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Sixers Notes: Bucks coach sympathizes with 76ers' Andrew Bynum uncertainty

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Bucks interim coach Jim Boylan knows exactly what the 76ers are going through as they wait for Andrew Bynum to make his debut.

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Bucks interim coach Jim Boylan knows exactly what the 76ers are going through as they wait for Andrew Bynum to make his debut.

The Bucks went through a similar situation with often-injured center Andrew Bogut. The Bucks selected Bogut with the top pick in the 2005 draft, but traded him to Golden State. Injuries were always a problem, and last year they finally gave up on waiting for the 7-footer to become the cornerstone of the franchise.

"It's a little frustrating because you are always wondering when a guy is going to come back, so you have to block that out," said Boylan, an assistant the last four years who was promoted to interim coach after the Bucks fired Scott Skiles. "Guys are always wondering what's going to happen next. So you block that out and just go with the guys that are in the layup line with you. When you start looking around and waiting for help to come, you inevitably lose your focus."

Bogut appeared in just 12 games for the Bucks last season before fracturing his left ankle. He was moved along with Stephen Jackson in exchange for Monta Ellis. Bogut has yet to play for the Warriors this season.

Last chance

The NBA all-star reserves will be announced Thursday, and there's a good chance that the Eastern Conference coaches, who select the players, will take a good look at what happened on the court in Milwaukee on Tuesday.

With the 76ers' Jrue Holiday and the Bucks' Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis all staking a claim to make the team - and the ballots due by noon Wednesday - this was their last chance to make an impression.

Halfway through his fourth season, Holiday is averaging career highs in points (19.2), assists (8.9), and turnovers (league-high 3.9). Ellis averages 18.8 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.0 turnovers; and Jennings, who roasted the Sixers for 33 points in a Bucks win in Philly last year, averages 18.6 points, 5.8 assists and 2.6 turnovers.

"The one thing about Brandon Jennings is that he's playing on a winning team now," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "I definitely think he's got a great chance to make it."

Coaches must vote for two guards, two frontcourt players, and two other players, who can be from any position.