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ESPN.com |
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ST. FRANCIS, Wis. -- Sometimes you start 3-9 and still manage to win 52 games. Sometimes the rally keeps going, to within one win of the NBA Finals. Sometimes you start 9-1 and then spiral to an implosion. Sometimes that belly flop is historically steep, from first place all the way out of the playoffs. This time? "We shall see," Sam Cassell said. "We shall see, we shall see, we shall see.
Sam I Am is right on. There's a whole league out there waiting and wondering about the Milwaukee Bucks, whose freefall into exasperation last season generates a considerable amount of anticipation in the new season. No attempt at Eastern Conference handicapping is complete without this question and the ensuing debate: Which of those two teams will the Bucks be? The Bucks who took Philadelphia to seven games in the 2001 conference finals? Or the Bucks who finished 5-14 last season to complete an unimaginable tumble into the lottery? Visitors granted access to their tucked-away practice facility on the outskirts of Milwaukee are quickly reminded that the Bucks have as much talent as anyone in the East, even after bundling Glenn Robinson off to Atlanta for a modest return. They've got Tim Thomas in waiting to take Big Dog's spot. They will again have the 3-point threat of Michael Redd off the bench, assuming owner Herb Kohl matches Dallas' four-year, $12 million offer to Redd by Wednesday. The Bucks also now have two veteran left-handers to throw into the mix who, if not always PC or passionate, can make Milwaukee smarter: Anthony Mason and Toni Kukoc. Most of all, the Bucks still have Ray Allen and Cassell to score a bunch of points. Of course, what the Bucks also have -- or "had" if you're willing to use George Karl's word -- is some of the most combustible chemistry anywhere. Injuries undeniably played a part in the Bucks' collapse, but tension hit the locker room with even more force last spring, ultimately branding Milwaukee as the first club in league history to nosedive from first place to the lottery after leading its division on March 15. The task, then, is clear. Karl and the Bucks have to change the culture in Cheese Country, and trading away Robinson is only a start. That much is confirmed when the holdovers start talking and start re-scraping their wounds.
"I hate being the optimist, but, damn, I think we're really good," Karl said. "But no one else does, so I must be stupid. "I don't look at last year as disastrous," Karl continued, with much to prove himself amid charges that he lost his team during the 5-14 finishing skid. "I look at last year as a stumbling block with a lot of injuries. A team that's pretty good. A team that was pretty good last year for most of the season. "Health is very important. If we're healthy, I think we're going to be fine. What happened last year was, the (bad) health created the frustration that created the chaos. I hear all this doom and gloom, but it wasn't a bad year. It's a dismal disappointment not to make the playoffs. It (makes you) just exhaustingly unhappy. But once you study the season, I'm optimistic." The only certain cure is a run at the East title, and Karl thinks he has the pieces even if financial constraints nudge Redd out the same exit door as Robinson and Darvin Ham. Allen (knee) and Cassell (toe) indeed look healthier than they did in the second half of last season, and Thomas understands that he has to start living up to his $67 million contract. There also hasn't been any resistance to Karl's decree that 70 percent of October practice time will be spent on the defensive side. At the other end, Milwaukee is already moving the ball better now than it did during the fatal slide.
Karl also reports that the Bucks are much longer and athletic than they've ever been in his regime. He has three rookies standing at least 6-foot-10 (most notably Dan Gadzuric), Mason present for camp this time and in decent shape and Kukoc's pass-first nature adding to the vision of playing Cassell and Allen off the ball and along the baseline. "This is the most talented crew I've had in training camp here," Karl said. "Last year we had Sam (worrying) about his contract, Ray had tendonitis, Glenn didn't participate because he was injured and we didn't have Mase in camp. … All of them were kind of injured or pissed off at the world. That's not the case now." Yet it's not that clear-cut, either. Cassell knew somebody prominent had to be traded in the first swipe at establishing a new atmosphere and was braced for being thrown into a deal like Robinson's. Cassell inevitably didn't like the trade that did get made and admits that can make the Bucks' tone-setter a Sullen Sam. "I was watching hockey the other day and I heard that the Dallas Stars didn't make the playoffs last year," Cassell said. "That was surprising to me. I don't follow hockey, but I know that's one team that's consistently in the playoffs, and they didn't make it. It shows you that stuff happens. "Some of these guys may feel different, but I'm going to miss Glenn Robinson. There's not many guys in this league who can score 20 points a game shooting a high percentage. When the trade was done, I don't know why I was mad because I knew it was coming for one of us. But does it make us better? How can we judge that? Only time will tell. "If it's good or bad, you don't even have to ask me. You don't have to come back here in March to interview me and Ray and George all over again. 'Cause you'll be able to see it." Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. E-mail him at marc.stein@espn3.com. |
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