2009-2010 Milwaukee Bucks Preview

2008 Record: 34-48, 5th in Eastern Conf. Central Division
Head Coach: Scott Skiles, 2nd season
Key Additions: F Walter Sharpe, F Kurt Thomas, F Hakim Warrick
Key Losses: F Malik Allen, G-F Richard Jefferson, F Charlie Villanueva
1st Round Draft Picks: G Brandon Jennings
2nd Round Draft Picks: G Jodie Meeks

2008-'09 Bucks Review:

For most lottery teams, the beginning of an NBA season usually creates the impression that future success will not be attained, leading to an inevitable downward spiral and a team-wide malaise. For the Milwaukee Bucks, it wasn't the opening stretch that killed them last year; it was the final turn instead.

Just under the .500 mark (28-31) through 59 games, the Bucks found themselves in playoff position behind the efforts of Charlie Villanueva, Richard Jefferson, and Ramon Sessions. But just when playoff tickets were ready to be printed at the Bradley Center, a disastrous six-week span sabotaged Milwaukee's run to the postseason. From Feb. 25 through April 8, the Bucks lost 16 of 20 games to plummet out of the playoff picture. Intense coach Scott Skiles couldn't coax focused efforts from his club, which inexplicably remained stuck in quicksand on defense at a time of year when playoff aspirants typically up the energy. While other playoff hopefuls (even the ones that didn't make it, such as the Charlotte Bobcats) scratched and clawed, the Bucks' antlers were absent from the jousting and jostling for the final few playoff spots in the East, which were ultimately claimed by Chicago (7th) and Detroit (8th).

2009-'10 Bucks Preview:

Lots of changes are afoot in Milwaukee, but some of them aren't for the better... at least not in the short run. Villanueva is now a Piston, Jefferson is a Spur, and Sessions has left town, too. Yes, the Bucks bagged Amir Johnson, viewed by many as a distinctly underrated power forward (from Detroit), and yes, the team snagged Hakim Warrick from Memphis, but if Wisconsin hoops fans want bang from their Bucks in 2010, they're likely to be disappointed. True, this team could have a nice nucleus in place for the future, with rookies Jodie Meeks (a draftee from Kentucky) and Brandon Jennings (a high schooler who played one year in Europe) now in the fold, but for the upcoming season, Scott Skiles is faced with a reality that's hard to deny: Most of the new pieces in the Milwaukee puzzle are unproven or young. Yes, Michael Redd will put the ball through the basket, and Andrew Bogut will grab his share of rebounds, but players such as Dan Gadzuric, Luke Ridnour, Kurt Thomas, and Charlie Bell are the kinds of players who are unknown not just because they play in Milwaukee, but because the Bucks haven't been playing postseason basketball of late. The young blood will have to do most of the work if the Bucks are to get back to the playoffs.

The one player who merits special attention on the Bucks' roster--the man who could break all the rules with this team and make a profound difference in the locker room--is a 38-year-old defensive stopper who will no longer be found in a San Antonio Spurs uniform. Bruce Bowen made life hell for Kobe Bryant and the Western Conference's other leading scorers over the past decade. Now in Milwaukee near the end of his career, Bowen--while leading by example on the court--might make his biggest contribution to the Bucks by being a lieutenant for the defense-minded Skiles. If this old basketball man, armed with the credibility that comes from winning titles as a player, can teach his younger teammates how to defend, Bowen might be able to engineer a shift in the local subculture and turn the Bucks into a bunch of defensive dynamos. Unless that shift takes place this season, however, it will be hard to expect Milwaukee to make the playoffs.

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By Matthew Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

> View the entire 2009-2010 NBA preview here at ProBasketball-fans.com