(My Sportsbook) - Scoring was never a concern for the
Milwaukee Bucks over the past few seasons, but a chunk of the points left when the Big Three became the Big Two.
Enter Michael Redd.
With Tim Thomas once again not earning his pay check, the Bucks are calling on Redd to be a modern day version of Vinnie "The Microwave" Johnson and provide them with some quick points off the bench. Redd hasn't disappointed.
The reserve guard is averaging 16.0 points in seven games while shooting 52 percent from the field, including 48 percent from three-point range.
In Wednesday's win over Chicago, Redd erupted for 18 of his season-high 24 points during a pivotal second quarter, hitting 5-of-7 three-pointers in the frame.
"I tried to find the open space on the floor and spot up," Redd said. "The shots just fell for me tonight. I had that feeling where just about anything I threw up was going to go in."
Behind Redd's performance, the Bucks outscored the Bulls, 42-14, in the quarter and opened a 67-44 halftime lead. The cushion allowed Milwaukee to hold on for a 108-101 victory.
"It's fun to pass and have guys hit shots, especially on a night like tonight when I can't hit a shot," said teammate Toni Kukoc, who went 2-for-11 from the field for only five points, but had 12 assists.
Three-point explosions are nothing new for Redd. Back on February 20 of last season, Redd made an NBA record eight three-point attempts in a quarter against the Houston Rockets. He finished with a career-high 29 points on 10- of-14 shooting, including 9-of-13 from three-point range.
After an injury-plagued rookie campaign that saw the Ohio State product play in just six games, Redd averaged 11.4 points and 21.1 minutes in 67 games last season. Most notably, he sank 44 percent of his three-point attempts.
Head coach George Karl is considering a lineup change, but it's not Redd he's looking at.
Karl has been flirting with the idea of using a small starting corps by implanting Kukoc in the starting forward spot and moving Anthony Mason to the center position. That would mean that rookie center Dan Gadzuric would be sent to the bench.
In his first season with the Bucks, Kukoc is averaging 13.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists in seven games off the pine.
