Last year, I made one of the worst predictions in the history of preseason picks.
Prior to the 2008-09 season, I picked Milwaukee to win the Central Division, ahead of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
I did so for a couple of reasons.
After watching Andrew Bogut during his two seasons at the University of Utah, I always believed he could become an All-Star.
Health issues had held him back, but I thought Bogut was ready for a breakout season with the Bucks, who took him with the No. 1 selection in the 2005 draft -- ahead of Deron Williams and Chris Paul, by the way.
My second reason for picking the Bucks was Michael Redd, who once scored 57 points against the Jazz.
He was coming off a relatively injury-free season and if he could stay healthy, I thought Redd would be a perfect complement to Bogut.
You know what happened.
Bogut had season-long health issues, Redd played in only 33 games before injuring his knee and Milwaukee finished 34-48. They ended up last in the Central Division, a mere 32 games behind Cleveland.
Don't you hate it when your horse loses in a photo finish?
I bring up the past only because the Bucks -- 17 months later -- are on the march in the Eastern Conference.
Heading into Saturday night's battle with Cleveland -- one of their most significant regular-season games in years -- Milwaukee owned a 32-29 record and sat sixth in the Eastern playoff picture.
The upwardly mobile Bucks trailed fifth-place Toronto by only one game.
With a favorable schedule ahead, including Friday night's game against the Jazz, a No. 5 seed in the playoffs is realistic.
Bogut has been the key.
Not only does he average 16 points and 10.3 rebounds, but he's also anchoring a vastly-improved defense.
In Friday night's 102-74 win at Washington, he blocked five shots.
It was Bogut's 26th straight game with a block, setting a franchise record for a team whose center was once a guy named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
"I got dunked on nicely as well," Bogut told reporters after the game. "But that's part of getting blocked shots. That's how it goes."
While Bogut is Mr. Inside in Milwaukee, rookie point guard Brandon Jennings has become Mr. Outside.
They have formed a positive and productive working relationship in the absence of Redd who tore up his knee Jan. 10 and again is out for the season.
When Jennings declared last week that a prolonged shooting slump had made him wary about being aggressive on offense, Bogut was the first to come to his defense.
"People are getting on him and media and fans are saying he isn't playing as well as he was earlier in the season," Bogut told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel .
"I beg to differ; we're winning now. He's the starting point guard on a winning team right now, so I think he's doing a great job for us."
I think so, too.
Of course, I predicted it.
