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Defenseless Bucks earned bad record
Updated: Thursday December 07, 2000 11:36 AM
The Milwaukee Bucks have really surprised me, and not in a pleasant kind of way. I thought they would be much better than they are, but they're not good individually on defense and they're just as bad as a team. Their record (8-10) is indicative of how badly they're playing. In the past, if a team coached by George Karl wasn't comprised of good individual defenders, the coach would mix it up with junk defenses. They didn't have to have great size, because Karl has always been able to work defenses with little traps and zones. Not with this team -- Milwaukee is really soft defensively. Another Karl trait gone by the wayside is his protection of his players in the media -- he's really been hammering them lately. And when you watch them play, he's right. They should be better; they're too good athletically not to be. While part of the criticism through the media is frustration on Karl's part, your top players do have to set the tone. Glenn Robinson, Ray Allen and Sam Cassell aren't playing tough enough, aggressive enough to win games. So I could see a possible trade, particularly involving Cassell, because they have Lindsey Hunter, and throughout his career, Cassell has been ready to move on after three or four years. The catch there is, I'm not sure who wants him. Disappointment looms in PortlandAnother team that's been a disappointment this season is Portland. The Trail Blazers are 0-4 against fellow Pacific powers L.A., Sacramento and Phoenix, and that's not a coincidence. They're constantly having trouble with officials. It's not only Rasheed Wallace now, as Bonzi Wells went off the other night and head coach Mike Dunleavy has had his share of run-ins. To make matters worse, three of their starters have been struggling.
Scottie Pippen isn't playing the basketball he's played in the past. It almost looks as if he's started coasting a little early, waiting for the postseason. And Steve Smith, Portland's only pure shooter, has had difficulty finding his shot. But the play of the oft-injured Arvydas Sabonis is probably what they miss most. He settles them down; he can pass. If Sabonis doesn't come back and play the last half of the year and the playoffs, they could be in trouble.
Successful teams get boost from benchWhile teams such as the New York Knicks and Miami Heat are paying the price for mortgaging their benches in exchange for their starting fives, other teams are reaping the benefits of a solid second team. Philadelphia immediately comes to mind. When you look for quality, you've got to talk about the Sixers: With Matt Geiger and Toni Kukoc coming off the bench, it doesn't get much better than that. And their depth will definitely come in handy now that guard Eric Snow is out six to eight weeks with a stress fracture in his ankle. As for quantity, I'd take the seven players on the Sacramento bench against any other team's seven bench players. Darrick Martin and Nick Anderson are 11 and 12 on the Kings' bench, and they were NBA starters two years ago. They've also got Lawrence Funderburke, Jon Barry, Bobby Jackson, Scot Pollard and Hidayet Turkoglu, who is going to be a lot like Predrag Stojakovic. He may not be as good a shooter, but he'll be a good player. The surprise bench on this list is the Pistons'. In fact, I see them making the playoffs -- they're going to be much better than people think. Joe Dumars has done an excellent job in acquiring Dana Barros, Joe Smith, Jud Buechler, Dell Curry, John Wallace and Jerome Williams.
Kevin Loughery is a former NBA player and head coach. He appears each Sunday on CNN/Sports Illustrated's This Week in the NBA.
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