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The Bucks are getting closer to clinching a playoff spot, holding a magic number of four over Philadelphia. "Larry was really focused on the game," Bucks coach Jim Boylan said of the effort against the Lakers. "He and I talked before the game. He's stepping up. That's what I want him to do. "He's improving in all kinds of areas. The thing about Larry is that he really cares. Sometimes he can be a little bit emotional, but I don't mind that as long as it is directed in the right way." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, Jim Boylan 

Monta Ellis has played in every game this season for the Bucks. And Bucks coach Jim Boylan thought Ellis would play Friday night against Indiana even though the shooting guard missed the morning shootaround due to illness. Both Ellis and Brandon Jennings have started all 67 games this season for Milwaukee, which is ending a two-game road swing after losing in Atlanta on Wednesday night. "I won't get into the gory details but he wasn't feeling well last night," Boylan said of Ellis. "We figured we were better off to let him rest up and rehydrate and all that. In my opinion, 99% sure he'll be fine by tonight. "He doesn't miss for too much." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, Monta Ellis, Jim Boylan 

Bucks coach Jim Boylan addressed the Jennings situation after the Bucks' victory over the 76ers. An ESPN report Wednesday quoted a source as saying Jennings and the Bucks had "irreconcilable differences." "Brandon and I talk all the time," Boylan said. "I talk to a lot of people around the league, a lot of people around Brandon. I don't get that feeling from him; I don't get that feeling from his people. "I saw that quote. It's just a source, whoever it is. That doesn't carry much weight with me. I just know my conversations with Brandon. He's here; he's a Milwaukee Buck. "He's going to do everything he can to help us win. And all that other stuff will take care of itself." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, Brandon Jennings, Jim Boylan 

Boylan’s vagabond basketball career would take him to a slew of spots, including Sweden and Switzerland, where he got an offer he couldn’t refuse. “After the first year in Switzerland, the team approached me and asked if I would be the player-coach,” Boylan said. “And I said, ‘Does that mean I get two salaries?’ And they said, ‘Yes.’ And I said, ‘Bang. You got a player-coach.’ ” Boylan never did become an NBA player but he did get a job in the NBA. In 1992, Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens hired him as a video coordinator, scout and assistant coach. Boylan later had assistant coaching stints with Vancouver, Phoenix, Atlanta, Chicago and Milwaukee. He was an interim head coach for the Chicago Bulls in 2007 when Scott Skiles was fired on Christmas Eve and became the Bucks head coach last month when Skiles and the Bucks parted ways. The 57-year-old Boylan appears to have the Bucks pointed toward the playoffs. They are in the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Racine Journal-Times

Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Jim Boylan 

It was nearly 50 years ago, but Jim Boylan remembers the moment as if it happened yesterday. Sitting in his second-grade classroom in Jersey City, N.J., Boylan was asked what he wanted to do when he grew up. It would have been understandable if Boylan had said he wanted to be a police officer. After all, Boylan’s father, Michael, was a cop and his son deeply admired him. “My dad was a cop for 30 years; he retired as a captain,” said Boylan, the Milwaukee Bucks new head coach. “My dad would work all day as a cop and then, at night, go to college. He went to school to become an electrical engineer. It took him eight years to do that. “He was a great inspiration to me.” Racine Journal-Times

Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Jim Boylan 

He wrote letters to 10 schools to gauge their interest. The first to respond was Marquette University, then coached by the flamboyant and highly successful Al McGuire. McGuire met with Boylan at a hotel in Boston where the former was attending a clinic. They hit it off immediately. “Al was just like every guy I knew in my neighborhood,” Boylan said. “I came from an interesting neighborhood; we had some real characters. I just knew I was going to like this guy.” Racine Journal-Times

Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Jim Boylan, Al McGuire 

The feeling was mutual. “We were sharing a couple of hamburgers and he asked if I could play for his team,” Boylan said. “I don’t remember saying this to him but Allie (McGuire’s son and former Marquette player) told me years later that I had said, ‘I’m not coming to your school to play for your team. I’m coming to your school to be your starting point guard. “Allie told me that when I said that to Al, Al said, ‘I got a keeper here.’ ” McGuire sure did. Boylan led the Warriors in assists his junior and senior seasons and played a key role in Marquette winning its first and only NCAA championship when it beat North Carolina 67-59 in the 1977 title game in Atlanta. Racine Journal-Times

Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Jim Boylan, Al McGuire 

Dave McMenamin: Bucks interim coach Jim Boylan: "Kobe changed the complexion of the game with his pressure in the back court" Twitter @mcten

Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Kobe Bryant, Brandon Jennings, Jim Boylan 

Jim Buss is going to fire Mike D'Antoni only if the Lakers experience a locker room mutiny, which is practically unimaginable. In that case, the lone alternative would be to replace D'Antoni with Phil Jackson, and Buss has made it clear that he doesn't want to go in that direction. The Kings have nothing to gain by firing Keith Smart as long as the franchise appears to be headed for Seattle next season. Why would the Maloofs pay extra money to a new coach if the team is about to become the responsibility of potential owner Chris Hansen in a short time? P.J. Carlesimo (Nets) and Jim Boylan (Bucks) are a couple of interim coaches who appear to be safe for the rest of the year. The Bucks have performed better than expected this season, while the Nets have turned hot (see below) since Carlesimo replaced Johnson. SI.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, Keith Smart, Jim Boylan, PJ Carlesimo, Jim Buss, Chris Hansen 

Dwane Casey knows how changes can be made abruptly in the NBA. So the Toronto Raptors coach was not too stunned to hear that Jim Boylan was replacing Scott Skiles as Bucks coach a few days ago. Boylan's Bucks meet the Raptors in a Sunday matinee, Canadian style. "Nothing surprises me in the NBA," Casey said in his remarks to reporters about an hour before tip-off. "I've been there before, seen it, done it, been in that situation. "That's our league. Not trying to be flippant about it. There's different situations, circumstances or whatever it is. I do know Scott has done a good job with that team. They've got his personality. They play hard; they scratch, they claw. So you're in for a 48-minute fight. "That's what we're going to face today." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Dwane Casey, Scott Skiles, Jim Boylan 

Mike Dunleavy and Houston assistant Kelvin Sampson are expected to get a call from the Bucks to fill their coaching vacancy. We’ll give the early edge to Dunleavy, based on the fact that he once coached the team and is still a huge fan favorite from his playing days. He also wants to be considered for the Brooklyn job in his home borough. New York Daily News

Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Mike Dunleavy, Kelvin Sampson, Jim Boylan 

Bucks interim coach Jim Boylan can recall the first moment he saw Pistons coach Lawrence Frank. Pistons assistant Brian Hill was the head coach of the Vancouver Grizzlies and Boylan was an assistant in 1997. It was training camp in Calgary, and there was a knock on the door and in walked a guy who looked like he was from a local high school. "I gotta tell ya, he looked like he was 14 years old," Boylan said Friday morning, hours before the Pistons-Bucks game. "And he even said, 'I know I'm young looking.' We all started laughing because literally he looked like a junior in high school." Detroit Free Press

Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Lawrence Frank, Jim Boylan 

In Wednesday night’s game against Chicago, Jennings torched the Bulls for 35 points, making 12 of 24 shots from the floor and 5 of 10 3-pointers. Jennings absolutely lit up his Bulls’ counterpart, Nate Robinson, in the third quarter by scoring 20 points. Jennings said his recent surge can be attributed to a boost in confidence. “I got my swagger,’’ Jennings said after the Bulls’ game in Chicago. “I was dancing a little tonight, clowning around. That’s just who I am. So if I’m not doing that, it means I’m having fun.’’ Asked the biggest difference between Boylan and Skiles, Jennings said, “Jim is more vocal. When I’m down, he comes and talks to me and says we need to keep it going. “When your coach is like that, you get all the confidence in the world.’’ Racine Journal-Times

Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Brandon Jennings, Nate Robinson, Coaching, Scott Skiles, Jim Boylan 

Jim Boylan takes over for the rest of the season. "Our goals haven't changed," Hammond said. "We still expect to have a good season." Twitter @cf_gardner

Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Jim Boylan 

Charles F. Gardner: Jim Boylan takes over for the rest of the season. "Our goals haven't changed," Hammond said. "We still expect to have a good season." Twitter @cf_gardner

Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Jim Boylan 

Steve Aschburner: Skiles statement on Bucks exit: “John and I met and mutually agreed that a coaching change would be in the best interest of both parties." Twitter @AschNBA

Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Scott Skiles, Jim Boylan 

Jim Boylan will take over as interim coach of the team beginning with Tuesday's home game against Phoenix, the source indicated. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Scott Skiles, Jim Boylan 

Rivers: “That’s a tough one for me. He’s the one that gave me my name. … I knew before the game that he wasn’t going to make it through the night. I don’t want to talk much about it.” Bucks assistant Jim Boylan, the point guard on Marquette’s 1977 NCAA title team: “For me personally he’s always been there. He’s one of those guys where, you don’t see Rick for a while and then when something is going wrong or you needed some help, boom, he’d be there. He did so much for me over the years when I was trying to get my career going, just extending himself and giving you whatever you needed, whether it was a phone call or having me come out to Salt Lake and stay with him 4-5 weeks at a time working. He would basically give you the shirt off his back if that’s what you needed – whatever it took. He’s going to be really missed. A great person.” Milwaukee scout Bo Ellis, top player on that Warriors squad: “When I came to Marquette, Rick was still very young. He was just getting started too. But always prepared. Great basketball mind. I remember, he stole all of [Al McGuire's] jokes. A good person and a fantastic basketball man.” NBA.com

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Coaching, NCAA, Jim Boylan, Rick Majerus, Bo ellis 

Members of the current Bucks coaching staff also were in attendance, including head coach Scott Skiles and assistants Jim Boylan, Joe Wolf, Anthony Goldwire and Bill Peterson. And Moncrief doubled up as an alum and the newest member of the coaching staff. Nelson hired Moncrief for coaching jobs in Dallas and Golden State and said he was delighted the former Bucks star was back with the franchise. "It was a great hire by the Bucks," Nelson said. "He's worked for me two different times. I cried when he left me, but he had to go to another job because they paid more. But I really enjoyed working with Sid and he's an outstanding coach. "He demands respect because of what he's done, and he's a great leader." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Scott Skiles, Jim Boylan, Sidney Moncrief 

Jim Boylan will be back on the Milwaukee Bucks' bench next season. Racine Journal-Times

Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Jim Boylan