[Izulde]

An impressive three deadline deals, all on the same day.

Los Angeles Lakers receive
C Lavell Ledbetter
Milwaukee Bucks 2019 2nd round pick

Milwaukee Bucks receive
PF Cene Kovacs

What this means for the Lakers
Ledbetter's a phenomenal shotblocker with some rebounding skills and good defense. Doesn't really bring much else to the table and he's really injury prone, but on the other hand, the Lakers had -no- big men worth talking about on the bench, so he's a nice pickup in that regard.

What this means for the Bucks
Kovacs, a 24 year old Slovenian drafted 29th last year by the Lakers has some good scoring instincts, average rebounding and good defense. Not a playmaker by any means and a terrible ballhandler. Not much upside, either.

Winner: L.A. Lakers
The Purple and Gold needed to get bigger in the post on the bench and Ledbetter provides that. We're not sold on Kovacs, especially since even 35 year old Charlie Villaneuva is a better bench option for the Bucks currently.

Memphis Grizzlies receive
SF Julius Austin
Miami Heat 2019 2nd round pick

Miami Heat receive
PF Andrea Clark
PF Brian Bender

What this means for the Grizzlies
It seems like only yesterday the Utah Sixers were rookies, but Austin's already 33 years old. Bad ballhandler at this late stage in career, but he can still score some points and, most importantly for the Grizzlies, he's a deadly defensive presence, something Memphis is notorious for lacking. The Grizzlies are hoping to knock Denver off the West conference crown and acquiring Austin is a great step in that direction.

What this means for the Heat
Bender, taken 18th overall by the Pistons in 2014, is the very definition of a mediocre player. Not a standout in any area. Clark, taken with the first pick in the second round last year by the Grizzlies, has potential to become a role player on defense, but that's about it.

Winner: Memphis
Neither Bender nor Clark will ever make an impact in Miami, whereas Austin enhances the Grizzlies' defense in a major way, shoring up Memphis's historically weakest point.

Milwaukee Bucks receive
PG Jarrett Jack
Phoenix Suns 2019 2nd round pick

Phoenix Suns receive
SG Danny Tennell

What this means for the Bucks
Jack probably won't receive much PT, but he's an extremely smart guard who's a nice safety option to run the offense in case of injury to one of Milwaukee's other guards. The Bucks also improve their 2nd round position by acquiring the Suns' pick.

What this means for the Suns
Tennell was Milwaukee's 1st round pick last year (22nd) and has bust written all over him. Why Phoenix even traded for him is beyond anyone's guess. He has nothing to recommend him at all.

Winner: Milwaukee
The Bucks shed a draft mistake and pick up a good insurance policy along with a high 2nd round pick.

Our first game in March is against Indiana and I still have a bitter taste in my mouth from our earlier 94-90 loss. No such repeat here as we beat the Pacers 93-79. Mateen Yeaton scores 22, Marcelino Augusto puts up 16 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks and Rico Wolfe adds 12 points off the bench. So much for Paulinho Buboltz's 31 points.

The Clippers pose no problem either, the 105-92 victory keyed by Luol Denb's 26 points. One thing I've noticed is that under Jim O'Brien's scheme, there's a lot more spreading out of the shots and so we don't usually have a consistently dominant player like in the Larry Brown days. And of course, everyone sucked under Scott Skiles's system.

109-96 is the final in our win against the Trailblazers. Marcelino Augusto scores 25 points and Luol Deng has his second straight 20+ point game with 21. David Jackson and Rico Wolfe both contribute 10 points off the bench.

A three-day break proves very beneficial to team health and we keep the win streak going with a doubleheader sweep of San Antonio and Phoenix. Marcelino Augusto drops 24 points on the Spurs in our 110-97 victory, Zelipe Gama bombing them for 21 points and Rico Wolfe putting on the icing with 16 points to lead the second unit. It's Marcelino Augusto again with the fantastic showing of 30 points and 11 rebounds to sink the Suns 109-96. Luol Deng and Mateen Yeaton score 21 and 23 points respectively and Zelipe Gama distributes 11 points and 14 assists.

Our first loss of the month comes against Charlotte, 110-105 as we blow a substantial fourth quarter lead and Mateen Yeaton's 36 points. Marcelino Augusto's 24 points also go to waste, but I'm okay with the loss. We're playing a lot better now than we have in quite a while and I think it's safe to say we're genuinely looking like one of the top teams in the league that we are.

And indeed, we rebound to wax the Clippers 100-74 on the strength of Marcelino Augusto's phenomenal performance of 23 points, 16 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 steals. I still can't believe he's just 20 years old and in his second pro season. He's blossoming into a titanic force already.

We beat the Bucks by 20, 106-86 and I'm amused to note that Lannce Dudley is starting at SG and scores 22 points. Yes, he re-signed with the Bucks and he's played 58 games, starting 26, averaging 10.7 points and not much else. On our side, Mateen Yeaton scores 34, Marcelino Augusto has 16 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks and Rico Wolfe scores 12 points off the bench. I'm thrilled with Wolfe and it's too bad I can't sign him to a contract extension. He'll definitely be a priority free agent re-signing, though.

Mateen Yeaton seems to have rediscovered his shooting stroke as he buries the Wizards for 34 points in our 117-95 laugher. Zelipe Gama gets 20 points and 11 assists and David Jackson contributes 15 points off the bench.

It's 3 straight games of 34+ points for Mateen Yeaton as he scores 37 against the Lakers, but David Jackson's 12 bench points are his lone support and we lose 112-104. Derrick Robinson just absolutely took the game over with 38 points and 17 rebounds, both one off his career highs. Austin Buller's been no Tim Davis at SF for the Lakers, by the way, averaging just 14.4 points this season.

A gut-wrenching 104-102 loss to the Kings really hurts, as they've been chasing us all season long for the top spot. 23 points and 15 rebounds from Marcelino Augusto, 24 points and 11 assists from Zelipe Gama and 15 bench points from David Jackson testify to just how much we were in it. This defeat could be the tipping point, much to my disappointment.

It's a fairly ugly win, but I'll take the 98-87 besting of the Suns to snap the losing streak. Mateen Yeaton scores 20, Zelipe Gama has 14 points and 10 assists and our bench comes through bigtime for us. David Jackson leads the charge with 16 points and 14 rebounds, Rico Wolfe and Emeka Okafor adding 12 and 11 points respectively.

A marathon OT game in Utah sees us prevail 113-106 over the Jazz. Luol Deng scores 27 points, Victor Gipson has 20 points and 13 rebounds, Marcelino Augusto double-doubles with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Zelipe Gama gets a double of his own of 16 points and 12 assists and David Jackson tops the reserves with 15 points.

It's a back-to-back to close March and we win them both. The Spurs get pounded 123-92 behind the most balanced game I've ever seen from our boys in Denver. 7 Nuggets score 13 points or better, headlined by Zelipe Gama's 18 points and 13 rebounds, Rico Wolfe and Louis Mertens our 13 point benchmen. Portland gives us fits, but an absolutely torrential second half gives us the comeback win against the Traiblazers on the road, 96-94. Mateen Yeaton is on fire with 38 points and Marcelino Augusto plays an excellent second man with 20 points and 12 rebounds. They were just enough to get us the victory.

With 10 games left in our season, we've clinched the Northwest for the umpteenth season in a row at 49-23. We're also still hanging on to the lead for the #1 seed in the West, as the Kings are 48-26. Sacramento's lead over the Lakers has expanded to four games, while Memphis is 7 games in front of the Spurs at 41-30 and all but has the division locked up.

Six teams over .500 in the conference and again, three are in the Northwest. It's very possible all of the Northwest teams could be in the playoffs, as the Sonics and Jazz are both .500 at 36-36.

Out East, Toronto's already won the #1 overall seed in the playoffs, as they're 60-12. Milwaukee's got a pretty safe five game lead over the Pistons at 47-25. The Bulls are 39-33 and look to be certain to make the playoffs as the #7 or #8 seed, which will probably give us somewhere around the 20th pick in addition to our late 20s selection. Not worth much in trade value or in talent, unfortunately.

The Magic and Hawks are still in a thrilling race for the Southeast. Orlando's jumped a half-game ahead of Atlanta, but you can bet the Hawks won't take that one lying down. It should go down to the wire over these last ten games and be a real treat to watch.

Paulinho Buboltz/Mateen Yeaton Comparison

Paulinho Buboltz
2013 Stats: 82 games/77 starts - 17.0 PPG 9.5 APG 3.0 RPG 0.7 BPG 1.2 SPG
2014 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 19.1 PPG 8.7 APG 2.8 RPG 0.5 BPG 1.4 SPG
2015 Stats: 55 games/48 starts - 14.1 PPG 8.3 APG 2.8 RPG 0.5 BPG 1.2 SPG
2016 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 18.3 PPG 8.1 APG 3.3 RPG 0.7 BPG 1.5 SPG
2017 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 19.1 PPG 8.5 APG 3.0 RPG 0.7 BPG 1.2 SPG
2018 Stats: 71 games/71 starts - 21.4 PPG 8.6 APG 3.4 RPG 0.9 BPG 1.5 SPG

Mateen Yeaton
2013 Stats: 82 games/81 starts - 23.3 PPG 2.4 APG 5.2 RPG 1.8 BPG 1.6 SPG
2014 Stats: 82 games/80 starts - 23.2 PPG 3.6 APG 5.2 RPG 1.7 BPG 1.3 SPG
2015 Stats: 82 games/81 starts - 23.6 PPG 2.4 APG 4.5 RPG 1.6 BPG 1.5 SPG
2016 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 25.0 PPG 3.1 APG 4.5 RPG 1.9 BPG 1.8 SPG
2017 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 24.4 PPG 3.2 APG 4.9 RPG 1.9 BPG 1.6 SPG
2018 Stats: 72 games/72 starts - 20.0 PPG 2.5 APG 4.2 RPG 1.5 BPG 1.1 SPG