john

The Milwaukee Journal Sports page indicate the pace the Bucks are going at,
and they list 39-43.

I agree, the way they are playing and lack of experience that would be about
right. Now we are 1/4 into the season and missing important shots the
Bucks need improvement.

Don't look for them in the playoffs this year.

-John L.

europa2846

You obviously haven't seen the rest of the East this year. A 35-win season
could get a couple of teams in the playoffs in this conference. I still think a
minimum of 41 wins is very possible for this team. Of course, they can't afford
to miss so many FTs and blow games at home against horrible teams like the
Wizards. Tonight's loss was probably the most painful one of the season so far.

todd clarey

I have to agree with John on this one Europa. The Bucks have ZERO
guards except for Michael Redd. And what does Redd do best? Shoots Mid
to Long Range jumpers. Damon Jones is a SCRUB! Strickland was a
reserve for Boston, what does that say? TJ Ford is AI in that he throws
a lot of shots up but misses about 75% of them.

Tim Thomas the wuss that he is, is hurt again and sitting his weak rear
on the bench. The chronic injury bug that effected Kukoc before he got
to Milwaukee is starting to rear its ugly head.

If this team even goes 39-43 I would be surprised. If I have to watch
Damon Jones or Erick Strickland shoot another air-ball 3 pointer I think
I may tear out what little hair I have on my head out.

SAM CASSELL I MISS YOU! This team misses a real leader. And for those
that frequent this NG that say it's okay we don't have good point guard
I say BLECH! I saw Sammy hitting the tough shots last night against
Sacramento. TJ Ford? Damon Jones? Erick Strickland?

ugh..

john

It wasn't the only one, they should have beaten New Jersey and the Chicago
Bulls. Its the injuries thats effecting them. Brian Skinner is out, Tim
Thomas and Toni Kukoc. Supposedly Kukoc is only the next 5 games which is a
lot. Skinner will be back in about a week or so when the Bucks go west,
maybe things will change.

I LOVE the way Marquette Golden Eagles have been playing. I dream that some
year we could have a Bucks team like that, kind of reminds me of 1971. Maybe
one of these years during the NBA Draft the Bucks could get Travis Deiner!

-John L.

far.

europa2846

Well we're clearly watching two different teams play. I don't miss Cassell
one bit. In fact, the Cassell for Joe Smith trade has provided the Bucks with a
MAJOR upgrade where they needed it most. I love watching this team. I haven't
been disappointed by this team in any way this season. Sure there are some
games they should've won (like the Wizards game or a couple others), but this
team plays hard, plays with passion and plays together -- three things you
could not say about the pathetic joke of a team we saw the last two seasons.
The T'Wolves can keep Cassell. They're not going anywhere. I'll take Smith,
get Skinner and Kukoc back, watch Ford develop into a real player, watch Redd
continue to become an All-Star-caliber player and will enjoy watching this team
for the rest of the season. Grunfeld looks like a genius for the Cassell for
Smith trade and Harris' moves have worked out great too. So far things are
definitely headed in the right direction for this team, even if there have been
a few stumbling blocks along the way.

europa2846

The two reasons I singled the Wizards game out was 1) it was at home and 2)
the Wizards are one of the worst teams in the league playing without their two
best players. The Nets and Bulls were definitely winnable games, but winning on
the road isn't easy. The Bucks have to establish home-court dominance this
season. That's the first step toward getting them where they need to be.


I agree, it's tough to win without three of your key guys. They've done a
very good job without Skinner since his injury, but losing Thomas and Kukoc
isn't an easy thing to overcome. But that was still a game they should have
won. No excuse to miss all those FTs like that. None.

He's got a long way to go before he will be an NBA player I think. But I
really do enjoy watching this current Bucks team play. Are they loaded with
stars? Nope, but we've been down that road and we saw how pathetic the results
were. A change was needed and we've got a big one and it's been fun to watch.
There are going to be some tough moments along the way, but if this team can
get healthy and continue to play with the intensity and energy it's shown thus
far, this is going to be a fun season. I'm convinced of that.

paul jensen

I don't agree. The Bucks are a playoff team if the season ended right now.
They should improve because
a) they will get Skinner, Thomas and Kucoc back, and
b) with a new coach and all the new players, they should naturally get
better as the season goes on.

john

Truth is it could be worse. Besides the Bucks are playing a lot better than
predicted. The so called "experts" were predicting San Antonio to do very
well....I don't know about Miami, but surely they "predicted" the Bucks to
be about 16-66. Its already been prooven that the Bucks will do better then
that.

I get too worked up when the Bucks are playing and not doing things right
etc. I try to avoid posting any messages in this NG immediately after or

I don't agree about having Sam Cassel, I don't miss him either. Even if the
Bucks don't make the playoffs, they made progress building with the players
they have. Of course during the off season the Bucks will try to improve
some more by trading, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if the Bucks can find
someone in place of Toni Kukoc, or even Michael Redd. Not sure when they
are up for free agency. Then we also will have the NBA draft in June 2004
as well. -John L.
"Europa2846" <europa2846@aol.com> wrote in message news:20031207115513.14309.00000368@mb-m14.aol.com...


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europa2846

They're actually playing just like a few of us in this NG predicted before
the season. Too bad nobody wanted to listen to us.


Yup. All of the major predictions I saw had them around the 20-win level
which was an absolute joke. No way was team going to lose 60 games in this
conference with the players that had been assembled. So many people really
missed the boat on this team, though I doubt you'll ever hear anyone say they
were dead wrong without some kind of backhanded compliment.


The thing I keep preaching is the effort. They work so hard and so much
harder than the last two teams that it's so much fun to watch.

Absolutely. This team is clearly headed in the right direction compared to
the team of last year that was clearly heading south.

Redd's a stud and is under contract for the next couple of seasons. He's a
keeper and he's every bit the player Ray Allen was and what I like more about
him than Allen is he's not afraid to go to the hope. He's not a soft player by
any means. Kukoc's contract will be up after this season. It'll be interesting
to see what happens with him the rest of the year.