Bucks' Redd has turned into NBA's quietest superstar

	Michael Redd has pumped up his scoring average -- again -- this season. AP
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It was only fitting that the biggest scoring night of Michael Redd's career would take place on a humdrum Saturday night in Milwaukee, against a low-profile team like the Jazz.

Not on a weeknight TNT game, or against a marquee opponent like the Heat or Mavericks, or in a big media market such as New York or L.A.

Redd's 57-point masterpiece on Nov. 11 -- the most points scored in an NBA game this season and the most by a second-round pick since the days of the NBA/ABA merger -- barely caused a ripple in the sports world.

It's a fairly typical occurrence for Redd, who flies under the NBA radar like a stealth bomber. The 6-6 lefty currently ranks second in the league in scoring (30.3 points), behind Carmelo Anthony and ahead of Allen Iverson and LeBron James. Yet his name often seems to be left out when talk turns of the NBA's best pure scorers.

"I don't worry about scoring. I don't look at stats during the season. That's the honest-to-God truth," Redd said at the team's media day last month. "I just play basketball. Some nights I might score 10. Some nights I might score 40.

"I think my numbers won't be as high as last year. That's a good thing if it translates to wins. I got no problem with that."

So far it hasn't worked out quite like Redd had planned. The Bucks, expected to be a playoff contender, are 3-8 after Tuesday night's loss to the Pacers. Injuries to starters Bobby Simmons and Charlie Villanueva have hurt them, and their defense has been porous.

The only bright spot has been Redd's continued development into one of the NBA's premier scorers. Now in his seventh season, the Ohio State product has seen his scoring average increase each year, from 2.2 his rookie season (when he was stuck behind Ray Allen and appeared in just six games) to 25.4 last year. This year, Redd has taken his game to an even higher level, showing more aggressiveness and getting to the foul line with greater frequency.

"I think he's maturing as a scorer," Bucks GM Larry Harris says. "He's figured out how to get to the free throw line. He's figured out different ways to score. He's using his mid-range game, driving to the basket, knowing when to shoot three-pointers, recognizing double teams, knowing when to go right in and suck in the defense and be a distributor. He's just maturing as a player, figuring out defenses and how to attack."