All boilerplate, no substance. With the absence of any question about Tobias, it's now official that Gardner is on the Bucks' FO payroll.
Nothing has gone smoothly for the Milwaukee Bucks this season.
Some heartbreaking losses after the all-star break doomed the Bucks' chances to finish at the .500 mark or above, and they dropped to a final record of 38-44.
A strong start on the road was wiped out by nine straight road defeats late in the season.
And the change of coaches from Scott Skiles to interim coach Jim Boylan created another set of challenges.
Yet through it all, the Bucks did reach the playoffs for the first time in three years. Their reward is a date with the defending league champion Miami Heat, starting Sunday night with Game 1 in Miami.
Bucks general manager John Hammond spoke with Journal Sentinel beat writer Charles F. Gardner about the season and the playoffs in an interview at the team's training facility.
Q.What did you think of the season and were you disappointed to finish under .500?
A. The fact we did finish under .500 is disappointing. The fact that we're in the playoffs is an encouraging point.
We had moments where we played very well and looked like a formidable foe and also we had different points where we struggled. You look at our record and you say maybe there were more low moments than high moments.
This team went through a lot this year, the coaching change first and foremost. That's a tough circumstance. A lot of times when that happens, things can go south in a hurry. I think our guys regrouped. We didn't finish the way we wanted to but we are in the playoffs and looking forward to that opportunity.
Q.Everybody is saying this matchup against Miami is a walkover and the Bucks don't have a chance. How do you approach that?
A. You look at Miami and evaluate who and what they are, and you say they're the best team in basketball. And their record speaks for itself.
But guys that play at this level, in any professional sport, they're tremendous competitors. That's what we're going to do - go out and compete.
We're going to have to play well, that's obvious. Everyone knows that. The players know that, the coaches know that, I know that. We're capable. We need to find that groove again.
Q.Larry Sanders has made dramatic improvement this season. Was it a lightning strike or did you see it coming?
A. You walk into this season and maybe my vision for Larry Sanders was not to be what he turned out to be this year. But you hope Larry did (see it). Give him a lot of credit.
He has been just a tremendous factor for us on the defensive end of the floor, protecting the basket at an extremely high level.
He was a different player than he was the first two (years). Sometimes it does take time; you don't know when it's going to happen. But the key is when the opportunity presents itself you do take advantage of it.
Q.You have some big decisions to make in the off-season regarding free agency with Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis and J.J. Redick. Are you satisfied with the young talent on the roster and where the team is headed in the future?
A. I do think it's on the right track. I'm happy we're one of eight teams playing in the East. Overall it's still a very young team even though we do have free-agent issues to address in this off-season.
I like where we're at. We're going to have options as an organization. We're not hamstrung. We're not backed into a corner in the decision-making process, thinking can we afford to bring a guy back and if we do is it going to put us in an unfavorable position. That's not the case for us.
There's the yin and yang on this. Your first choice is not to have this many free agents on your roster. Then again those free agents do give you financial flexibility.
Q.What is the goal in the playoffs?
A. Win. If you're going to play, you might as well play to win.
Maxtradamus
