Allen has been somewhat conceited this year, but he's definitely not alone. I'm still wondering why George Karl received an extension earlier this year. Or Sam Cassell for that matter. Big Dog or Tim Thomas will be the ones to go. They are most expendable, as they play the same position. Though, Michael Redd's improved play might warrant Allen being traded.
The Bucks are a classic case of a team in need or role players. If we get Lamar Odom, some crap like this could happen to us, where everyone b****es about the ball. The Bucks have Cassell, Allen, Robinson, Thomas, and Mason. All 5 guys are guys who require the ball in their hands to be effective. Moreover, Mason is the only one who plays defense.
Karl also said the same thing to the Magic about trading their role players who got them as far as they did two seasons ago...and what does he do? Trade Scott Williams. I still think Hunter would've made a positive difference at the point this year for the Bucks - though it might've hurt Redd's outbreak, the injuries to Ray Allen would've allowed him to break out even then. Yet, still, they should've been able to get more for each and screw Mason. As it was, everyone knew their goal - to clear room for Mason - and they obviously got the shortend of two deals...and a third in signing Mason.
I was reading an article, cant remember where, that was basically stating that Mason was the cusp of their problems. That his game didnt fit with the game of the Bucks. Basically that he was disrupting the flow of the Bucks game and not even attempting to mix his game to fit with his teammates. His response was one of immaculate conception. Im paraphrasing here "They knew my game to before they traded for me, I don't have to change for them" Impressive.
I think people confuse Lindsey Hunter's playoff performance last year as his contribution to the Bucks. He was a key cog for them in the regular season last year.
Eh, I think the Bucks problem isn't defense, so much as their inability to play the inside game. Mason can be somewhat effective at times, but he's not really a prime guy down low... ...I think the philosophy of simply outscoring your opponent often works. At least, it does for Dallas. And to a lesser extent, for Sacramento. But the success of the peremiter game is increased by a good inside game.
Haven-Possibly... But in the East, where there are no inside threats, that style of play can work. I also thikn the opposite of what you are saying. As someone else noted, Mason might be disrupting the flow of the offense. Mil's offense is nowhere near as efficient as it was last year. When Mason gets the ball inside, he's a black hole. I know he's a good passer, but he passes well only when he's facing up, and when he drives to the goal. Last year, Mil's offense was predicated on passing the ball around and finding open men. This year, the ball movement has been almost as bad as the Rockets.
Kid, um, Greg Anthony is getting almost all the backup pg minutes, and not Rafer Alston (during this fade). And Greg Anthony is a better defender than Hunter and isn't a total choke artist on offense. I'm not confusing Hunter's predictably horrible playoff performance with his mediocre regular season contributions. He is not a solid player and he's weak mentally. He usually shoots worse from inside 3 pt range than from outside it (he misses more lay ups than any player in the NBA) and can not create at all. His defense is overrated as well. He's very good at pressuring the ball as it comes up the floor, but once it gets into the halfcourt, he's not particularly good at all. He doesn't clamp down his man.
Anothony came later in the season. In fact I was stunned to turn on a Bucks game a few weeks ago and saw he was on the roster. As Kid said, Alston got the chunk of the minutes. Lindsey Hunter last year was a solid defender, outstanding scorer, and solid pentrator to the basket last regular season. He fit Milwaukee's game to a tee. Anthony is great, but he just seems out of place in Milwaukee's system. Anthony isn't a particularly good jumpshooter and that is Milwaukee's strength. And even though Anthony is a solid one-on-one defender he's better on a team that plays great team defense and great help defense. If Anthony and Hunter played their best ball Hunter would be a solid starter and Anthony would be a good back-up. Anthony isn't a capable starter, but he's a great back-up.
I posted this last night as my computer flaked, so here goes again. If you actually read my post, I said "DURING THIS FADE" about Anthony. The Bucks were near the top of the Central division for most of the season. Their fade came near the end of the season when Anthony was on the roster. Alston is totally irrelevant in this discussion, as he was the 3rd stringer when Hunter was there and the 3rd stringer during this fade. You must be less familiar with the Bucks season than you think. Hunter is the proverbial fools gold. I've probably watched him play more games than everyone else on this board combined. He is exactly as I described him as a player. The Bucks lack of success has nothing to do with missing Hunter. Nothing.
One thing you need to remember about the Bucks since you are a Bucks insider, is that if Hunter weren't traded for Foster, Mil probably would not have brought in Mason, the guy most responsible for this fall. How so you ask? The Bucks purposely ripped themselves off, by trading Hunter for Foster and his contract that expires this year. Then knowing that they don't have Hunter's contract for a longer-term, and knowing that Foster's contract expires this year, they were willing to offer Mason the multi-year deal he was looking for. If Hunter had still been around, the Bucks might not have offered Mason a multi-year deal.
Not to mention that George Karl has (lately) been very, very, very kind to his players. That is, he hasn't been ripping on them mercilessly to the media (which, for him, is kind). Maybe he was trying a different tactic, but I think part of him wanted this failure so that he finally has the necessary ammunition to make some trades.
I could see where Mason might be part of the problem--he does dominate the ball way too often, similar to how Barkley used to just put the ball on his waist til there was 7 seconds left then start backing down. However, the biggest problem with them IMO is Karl. Rip your players to wake them up every once in a while, but not after every single game. Eventually, they just stopped listening and stopped caring. Karl needs to go. I think he's a good coach, but he's just worn everybody out with his constant b****ing. With a coaching change, I think you could keep the team status quo and they'd win 55 games next year. What would be really FUN, is if they hired Paul Westphal as their coach. That way, you wouldn't have to force all of these guys to play defense and just let them run. I imagine they'd be quite happy with that, and as the Mavs show us, a happy bball team is a good bball team.
Westphal following everywhere Karl goes? I think missing the playoffs was the best thing to happen to them. If that isn't a wakeup call, I don't know what is.
I'm pretty sure that title belongs to Nick "The Brick" Anderson. And the Lakers won't have to worry too much about him choking this year, I don't think.
