As the NBA trade deadline ground to its uneventful thud a couple of weeks ago, the only team conducting any serious business was Milwaukee.
In a deal which sent a couple of former mid-first picks to Orlando, Milwaukee landed the biggest fish of the deadline in J.J Redick.
The trade worked as a companion piece to a deal the Bucks executed 12 months earlier when they landed former Warrior Monta Ellis in exchange for the often injured, previous number one pick Andrew Bogut, while also freeing themselves form Stephen Jackson’s erroneous contract.
Indeed, General Manager John Hammond has been a busy man since taking the job five years ago with his tireless and imaginative work recently earning him a three-year contract extension of his own.
Milwaukee isn’t the easiest place to do business owing to hideous winter weather which works against them when pursuing free agents.
In addition, the Bucks franchise isn’t exactly printing money, meaning that when they do spend the big dollars their assets really need to bear fruit. Collective attendance to Bucks home games for instance ranks fourth last among all teams.
In spite of the obstacles the Bucks however should be admired for refusing to accept their lot in life, choosing a course of creativity and ingenuity while working to take advantage of any edge they can get.
As admirable as the Bucks moves have been, particularly over the last couple of seasons, these final two months of the season loom large and will potentially act as a referendum of sorts upon Hammond’s moves over the last couple of seasons.
The worst case scenario for the Bucks is they fall entirely off the rails and miss the playoffs. The next worst prospect would see them ‘win’ the eighth seed which would immediately pit them against Miami who you’d figure would gobble them up in one mouthful.
Either of those scenarios would be compounded by their vulnerable roster composition, which could see their entire back court leave in one foul swoop owing to the nature of Ellis, Redick’s and Brandon Jennings’ contracts.
I’m however more buoyant where the Bucks are concerned, figuring they could build on their current four-game streak, avoid the eighth seed and potentially plot a path would could see them bypass Miami until the Eastern conference Finals.
Yes, I understand that’s a big stretch for a team just two games above .500, yet indications would suggest that run isn’t entirely beyond the realm of possibility.
The Bucks are playing a level of basketball few in the East are presently performing to, while the early integration of Redick into the line-up has proven flawless.
The Bucks offense has extended to a level whereby it’s now ranked third in the East, where points per game are concerned, having topped 100 in 13 of their past 19 matches. In addition they’re playing at a pace which ranks them among the league’s quickest.
Milwaukee’s achilles heel is without doubt a leaky defence which needs to be rectified if they’re to make any noise whatsoever come playoff time.
With the exception of Larry Sanders’ excellent interior defence the Bucks don’t inspire much confidence when they don’t have the ball, leaking a gaudy 108 points per 100 possessions when Sanders rests.
The Bucks aren’t usually the most exotic topic in the NBA world however they ought to be. They’re just three games off a top four seed and are working as the perfect embodiment of a team performing above their limitations and external expectations.
They could make for one hell of a big story over the coming months.
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