The Bucks are loaded at shooting guard for the 2010-11 season. It all starts with 30-year old starter John Salmons who was re-signed by the Bucks over the summer. Salmons played in 81 games (56 starts) for the Bulls & Bucks last season and he averaged 34.9 minutes, 15.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He has now played in 601 games (247 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.9 minutes, 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Salmons is a late bloomer and I expect that he will score between 15-17 points per game again in 2010-11.

28-year old Carlos Delfino will back up at both shooting guard and small forward for the Bucks this year. Delfino played in 75 games (66 starts) for the Bucks last year and he averaged 30.4 minutes, 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has now played in 337 games (72 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 20.1 minutes, 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. I look for him to have another solid year for the Bucks in 2010-11.

31-year old Michael Redd is going to miss a big chunk of this year as he is rehabbing a knee. Redd played in 18 games (12 starts) for the Bucks last season and he averaged 27.3 minutes, 11.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game on 35.2% shooting from the floor. Redd has now played in 568 games (427 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 33.8 minutes, 20.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Not much is expected out of Redd this year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BUCKS SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: B

20-year old starting point guard Brandon Jennings dropped 55 points in a game early last year and it’s one of the worst things that could have happened to him. He decided to turn into a mini-Allen Iverson with no jump shot as he only connected on 37.1% of his shots from the floor. Jennings played in 82 games (all starts) for the Bucks as a rookie last season and he averaged 32.6 minutes, 15.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. If the Bucks can get Jennings to pass more and shoot less, they will be a better team for it.

30-year old Keyon Dooling will likely be the back-up point guard for the Bucks in 2010-11. Dooling played in 53 games (8 starts) for the Nets last season and he averaged 18.3 minutes, 6.9 points, 1.0 rebound and 2.5 assists per game. He has now played in 595 games (62 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 19.6 minutes, 7.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Dooling is absolutely no threat to Jennings’ PT in 2010-11.

34-year old might mite Earl Boykins will battle Dooling for the back-up point guard slot in 2010-11 for the Bucks. He is fun to watch as he is only 5’5″, 135 pounds. His game is built around speed. Boykins played in 67 games (1 start) for the Wizards last season and he averaged 16.7 minutes, 6.6 points, 1.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He has now played in 587 games (34 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 20.4 minutes, 9.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. If nothing else Boykins will bring a different look to the Bucks when he’s playing the point.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BUCKS POINT GUARDS IN 2010-11: B

The Bucks don’t have much talent outside of Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut on the roster and they are both injury prone. Skiles led the Bucks to a 34-48 record (41.5%) last season and he will be fortunate to lead them to that many wins this season. Skiles though does have a 315-299 (51.3%) career record as a head coach in the NBA during the regular season so maybe he can work some magic. He also has a post season record of 15-20 (42.9%) in his career.

The Bucks are depending on shooting guard Michael Redd and center Andrew Bogut to provide a lot of offense this season. So they need them to both stay healthy. The 24-year old Bogut played in 36 games last season for the Bucks and he averaged 31.2 minutes, 11.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. The Bucks even expect more than those numbers this season out of Bogut. 33-year old Francisco Elson will back up Bogut again this season but he doesn’t have much of an offensive game. He played in 59 games for the Bucks last season and he averaged 16.6 minutes, 3.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. 31-year old Dan Gazduric is the #3 center for the Bucks once again in 2009-2010. He played in 67 games for the Bucks last season and he averaged 14.0 minutes, 4.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: B-

That is not a joke, the Bucks will be starting 37-year old power forward Kurt Thomas this season. He played in 79 games for the Spurs last season and he averaged 17.8 minutes, 4.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. The Bucks better watch Thomas’ minutes so that he doesn’t wear down during the year. He should be able to give them defense and rebounding but that’s about it at his age. 22-year old Ersan Ilyasvoa will back up Thomas this season. He has played the last couple of years in Europe. He last played in the NBA during his rookie year for the Bucks in 2006-07 when he appeared in 66 games and averaged 14.7 minutes, 6.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. 23-year old Walter Sharpe will be the #3 guy at power forward this season for the Bucks. He played in 8 games as a rookie last season for the Pistons and he averaged 2.5 minutes, 1.0 point and 0.4 rebounds per game. Don’t expect much out of him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: D-

27-year old Hakim Warrick will likely hold off 23-year old Luc Richard Mbah a Moute for the starting job at small forward. Warrick is a good offensive player and a decent defender. He played in 82 games for the Grizzlies last season and he averaged 24.7 minutes, 11.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Mbah a Moute is also a very skilled player who has a nice upside. He played in all 82 games for the Bucks last season and he averaged 25.8 minutes, 7.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He could push Warrick for minutes at some point this season. Joe Alexander will be #3 in line for the Bucks here. He played in 59 games last season for the Bucks and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 4.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2009-2010: C-

This is the only position on the Bucks that is deep and talented. 30-year old Michael Redd is by far the best player the Bucks have to offer. He played in only 33 games last season for the Bucks due to injury but he still averaged 36.5 minutes, 21.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Redd can hit a shot from almost anywhere and he should average more points this season for the Bucks as he will be the go to man on offense. 30-year old Charlie Bell will back up Redd this season and he is a solid player. He played in 70 games for the Bucks last season and he averaged 25.5 minutes, 8.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. 27-year old Carlos Delfino is back after playing a lot of ball overseas. He is a talented player who can handle either shooting guard or small forward. Delfino brings energy to the court as he plays very hard so he will likely earn a lot of minutes somewhere on the court for the Bucks this season. 22-year old Jodie Meeks was selected in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft out of Kentucky but he will likely be buried on the depth chart this season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2009-2010: B