The Bucks are happy with the new players they acquired at the trade deadline so far. John Salmons is now in the starting lineup after playing solid ball off the bench for the Bucks. Salmons has played in 3 games (1 start) for the Bucks so far and he is averaging 37.0 minutes, 17.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. But Salmons is only shooting 37.5% from the floor for the Bucks and they hope he will improve on that soon. Royal Ivey has played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Bucks so far and he is averaging 4.0 minutes, 1.0 point, 0.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Primoz Brezec has yet to play in a game for the Bucks. The Bucks will need Salmons to keep playing well if they are going to nab one of the last spots in the Eastern Conference playoffs this season.

What you see is what you get with second year power forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. He is a good defensive player who gets his fair share of rebounds. Mbah a Moute has played in 42 games (31 starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 26.8 minutes, 6.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. The area that Mbah a Moute could improve on is his offense but all that would require is him being a little more selfish with the basketball.

Veteran shooting guard/small forward Jerry Stackhouse is helping the Bucks off the bench so far. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Bucks so far this season and he is averaging 19.7 minutes, 7.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Stackhouse is giving the Bucks a spark of the bench while re-establishing himself in the NBA.

Back-up point guard Luke Ridnour is having a solid year for the Bucks. He has played in 46 games (0 starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 22.3 minutes, 11.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Ridnour is shooting well from everywhere on the court also as he is hitting 48.7% of his shots from the floor, 40.4% from three point range and 90.7% from the free-throw line. The amazing thing about Ridnour’s play this season is when you look at his per 48 minutes stats they are very close to Brandon Jennings’. Ridnour is averaging 24.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 1.7 steals per 48 minutes this season while Jennings is averaging 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.7 steals per 48 minutes. Plus when you factor in that Ridnour is a better shooter from everywhere than Jennings you can really see the kind of year he is having.

Ersan Ilyasova played overseas for three seasons after leaving after his rookie year for the Bucks. In 2006-07, Ilyasova played in 66 games (14 starts) for the Bucks in which he averaged 14.7 minutes, 6.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. But, this season he is playing much better for the Bucks and they hope he keeps up the good work. Ilyasova has played in 38 games (30 starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 24.9 minutes, 11.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.