Bucks Continue Growth

The Milwaukee Bucks OT loss to the Hawks will sting for a while. The opportunity to extend the road, and overall, winning streak to 7 games would have been a great thing for the Bucks in itself. However, beating the Atlanta Hawks, streak or not, would have been a great example of how far the Bucks have come. However, this victory was elusive, and the Hawks were able to pull it out. Despite this, the game proved how much the Bucks have grown, and that they are not afraid of the better teams in their conference.

The Hawks, 36-21 entering the game today, are the 4th seed in the east, and bring a talented and athletic team that plays hard every night. The playing hard-aspect could certainly be said about the Bucks, but so-called "experts" have certainly questioned their talent level. They were considered to be the worst team in the Eastern Conference at the start of the season, but their level of play has propelled them into the playoff race. It speaks volumes of Scott Skiles' coaching ability, but the talent John Hammond has brought in can not be questioned.

In the off-season, the Bucks let young talents Ramon Sessions and Charlie Villaneuva walk for nothing, and traded Richard Jefferson away for expiring contracts. Hammond wanted to clear up space for the future, but also had the present in mind. He brought in Carlos Delfino, Kurt Thomas, and was able to convince Ersan Illyasova to return to Milwaukee. During the course of the season, he signed Jerry Stackhouse and recently acquired John Salmons. This group of talent has the team-first approach that has no egos, and everyone is buying in.

Brandon Jennings has had his ups and downs, but he accepts Skiles' decision making. Late in the game, it was Luke Ridnour, not Jennings, who was making crunch-time decisions. Earlier in the game, Skiles pulled Bogut for his lazy play as the Hawks jumped to an early lead. The message is clear, play hard and play defense, or someone else will take your place. Thanks to all the stockpiled talent, the Bucks have enough depth to maintain this philosophy in an effective manner.

They are in the top 5 in back-to-back nights of games, with a 10-7 record. At the beginning of the season, the Bucks started 6-19 on the road. They have battled back and have improved to 12-20 while defending their homecourt pretty well. Now, while other teams have become much fatigued due to the stars playing heavy minutes and lacking an overall lack of depth, the Bucks can throw fresh bodies around. This bodes well for the playoffs, as a possible matchup with the Hawks looms.