FanHouse Bucks

Not only have the Lakers been dominant since the return of Pau Gasol, but they've been fun to watch, too. The home win over the Thunder was a complete circus, where you had Kobe Bryant hitting shots from behind the backboard, followed by an impromptu performance from Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, who was handed a mic during a fourth quarter timeout to "spontaneously" do one of his hit songs. Things are good right now in L.A., and the rest of the league has a lot of catching up to do -- read on to see where they all rank this week.

MILWAUKEE -- Three guys in the stands have their shirts off and are jumping up and down at a Wisconsin sports event. One has their favorite player's number painted onto his chest and the other two are adorned with the initials of the player.

So what is this, a Green Bay Packers game and it's 25 degrees outside?

Nope. It's 72 degrees indoors, and it's a Milwaukee Bucks game.

The player is rookie sensation Brandon Jennings. In a matter of weeks, the point guard has made the Bucks relevant again.

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee is cutting costs. With that being no secret, guard Michael Redd doesn't deny there is a possibility he could be traded before his contract expires in the summer of 2011.

But that's not what Redd wants.

"Oh yeah, absolutely,'' Redd said Thursday in an interview with FanHouse about wanting to remain with the Bucks through the life of his deal. "I've been here for 10 years. So I've enjoyed my time here, man, and the team keeps getting better.''

Redd, 30, is making $17.04 million this season and has an $18.3 million early-termination option for next season. It would be a shock if Redd, who has played his entire career with the Bucks since entering the NBA in 2000, opted out.

MILWAUKEE -- Two weeks after the third-year option on his rookie contract wasn't picked up, Milwaukee forward Joe Alexander says he wants to be traded.

Alexander's 2010-11 option for $2.76 million was not picked up by the Nov. 2 deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent next summer. In an interview with FanHouse before Tuesday's win over the Nets at the Bradley Center, Alexander was asked if he believes that means the Bucks could deal him as the February trade deadline approaches.

"They made it pretty clear that they don't see me having a future here,'' said Alexander, the No. 8 pick in the 2008 draft who averaged 4.7 points last season as a rookie. "So I'm assuming a trade would definitely be one of the options.''

Bucks rookie point guard Brandon Jennings, he of the European diversion, created enough hype to fill up the Bradley Center twice during his first six games, with a 20-point per game average earning Rookie of the Year chatter coast to coast. Suffice it to say Jennings's 55-point outburst Saturday night against (yes) the Warriors will ratchet up to volume of those calls to unbelievable levels.

Jennings dropped 29 points in the third quarter against Golden State, and 45 in the second half for a come-from-behind 129-125 win for Milwaukee. He broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Bucks rookie record for points in a game (KAJ, then Lew Alcindor, had 51) and came within a bucket of teammate Michael Redd's single-game franchise record (57). He was three points away from Wilt Chamberlain's NBA rookie record for points in a game.

And of course, Jennings drew rave reviews from his coach Scott Skiles, a former point guard.

You have to give Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman an "A" for persistence. Neither the bad economy, nor the bad publicity from the All-Star Game in 2007 -- or even the stepped-up anti-gambling push after the snake-like Tim Donaghy raised his head -- has deterred Goodman from continuing his push for an NBA franchise.

He does make a lot of sense. Las Vegas really would be NBA heaven.

Goodman at his weekly press conference Thursday brought up the issue again of moving forward with plans for a new downtown arena in hopes of luring an NBA franchise to his city.

The Pistons have four rookies on the roster. Two of them have been suspended by the league for the season opener because of preseason scuffles. (You are on high alert, DaJuan Summers and Deron Washington!) The league announced today that Austin Daye, Detroit's No. 15 pick in the June draft, will be suspended for the first game of the season due to a fight with Bucks forward Carlos Delfino on Wednesday. Delfino will also miss the opener.

Earlier this week, fellow Pistons rookie Jonas Jerebko was suspended one game for a Tuesday altercation with Heat center Jamaal Magloire. Magloire was docked two games. If nothing else, Jerebko and Daye are showing that while the roster has turned over, the ol' Detroit Bad Boys attitude still exists in Motor City.

(While we're on the subject, by the transitive property: Omri Casspi beats up Austin Daye, Austin Daye beats up Carlos Delfino ... therefore Omri Casspi could beat up Carlos Delfino. Can't wait to see that.)

For the second game in a row, replacement officials have completely botched routine free-throw procedures in Detroit.

During Monday's game between the Pistons and the Heat, the referees failed to whistle a dead ball after Ben Wallace tossed up an air ball on a free-throw attempt in the first half. Worse yet, in the fourth quarter, the officials allowed Will Bynum, a career 77.8% shooter from the stripe, to shoot free throws for Maceo Baston, only realizing their mistake after Miami's bench complained when Bynum drained them both. After conferring, the officials took the points off the board and sent Baston to the line, where he missed both attempts.

Bynum pleaded innocence after Monday's game, telling FanHouse he heard a referee tell him to take the line. From the officials' perspective, I'm not sure what's worse: Bynum telling a fib, which shows how easily they were fooled; or Bynum telling the truth, which proves that all three refs weren't on the same page. Either way, it looks bad ... but not as bad as what happened Wednesday.

FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is not going to set the world on fire. But he's the type of player that can provide the gasoline.

To say Mbah a Moute was under the radar last season is to vastly overestimate the strength of radar systems. Coming out of UCLA, Mbah a Moute was considered a project like so many rookies. He didn't possess the wowzer tangibles (standing only 6-8 and being listed as a power forward will do that to you), didn't stir the senses with playmaking, and was considered a good college player that he might make it with some time.

And then Mbah A Moute actually hit the floor.