Does this team, as is, make the playoffs?

[SheedsWeed]

I think so. Maybe not the 4th/5th seed, but I think we could at least get the 8th seed, especially seeing how weak the east is with the Atlanta Hawks making the playoffs when they were, what, 13 games under .500?

[75totheMACCfund]

I threw in the idea of roster spots needing to be filled because it's obvious that they need to be filled.

I will give larry harris credit for that. I remember having a conversation with someone in October of '07 and saying larry harris did a great job of rounding out the roster with voskuhl, ruffin, and ivey. Perhaps I was drinking the harris koolaid a little bit too much. I will contend, however, that given the circumstances, he did a decent job of filling out the spots. Giving Storey the deal he did was a joke, however, i think Voskuhl, Ruffin, and Ivey were all decent, at the least stop gaps, role players who could be somewhat productive. In some cases, they were far more productive than other bench players, i.e. See Ruffin being more productive than Gadzuric.

I think it's incredibly crucial to see who Hammond fills the bench with. I'd kill for, and I've said this many times, Antonio McDyess...i believe he defines a great role player and fulfills the need for a 4 who can either start or come off the bench who bangs the boards, plays solid defense, and can hit the 15 foot jumper.

The PF position is something that needs to be shored up almost immediately by the organization and someone like a McDyess, at least a veteran with the skill to provide productivity, would be great. Hammond is no idiot and it is my hope that his tutiolage under Dumars has taught him that a reliable bench makes a great impact as the season / /(hopefully) the playoffs wear on. It's rather obvious as to why teams like Boston, Detroit, San Antonio, and the LA Lakers went as far as they did in the playoffs. They have strong benches, specifically incredibly solid in the front court off the bench, and can either A. rally for the lead when they are down from strong front court bench production or B. play lock down defense and protect the lead.

The Bucks need to solidify their front court woes through getting a decent start PF and grabbing a savvy veteran who can provide great defense and solid offensive production off the bench.


**** I had been drinking when I wrote this...i apologize if any of it doesn't make sense or for grammatical errors...Although I hope I made more sense than MMBOT who is the most bizarre individual I have ever encountered, and luckily I only have to interact with him online. It was a yes or no question...there isn't a maybe make the playoffs...you either make the playoffs and get a 1 through 8 seed, or you don't make the playoffs. I understand there are different variables, but I was simply asking, "yes" or "no"...I don't even know why I'm trying to justify this poll...it seemed to make sense to everyone else.

[fam3381]

I'll say yes (a weak one though), inspired by equal parts faith in Skiles and a lack of faith in the Eastern conference. But hey, I'm an optimist.

Still, it's tough to make any definitive statements right now given that the roster could change a bit over the next few months. Though honestly I'm not as sure as I was 24 hours ago that we're going to make any more big deals. Desmond is obviously unlikely to be around.

It all seems to depend on whether we can get decent value for Mo/CV/Desmond. I'm not sure what the market will look like for those guys, but I don't see a salary dump or something of Mo because we don't have a bunch of spare parts to deal away. And obviously it's tough to swap CV for a non-PF unless we get another PF first.

We're also not going to make a big FA signing, so with the draft over we kind of have to make due with what we've got. Can we get a Duhon-type for the BAE? I'd guess no, but I suppose it's possible. I guess that could be one way to compensate if we swapped Mo for a Varejao/Haslem type.

If we were to go with Mo/Redd/RJ/CV/Bogut then I'd love to bring back Ruffin since that lineup would really need a hard hat guy who doesn't need shots.

[WEFFPIM]

I hate polls that do not have another option besides yes or no! Polls like that are dumb...and limite dialogue! Things are not that cut and dried.

Well, this being a yes or no question, doesn't leave much more room for other options.

[jerrod]

I hate polls that do not have another option besides yes or no! Polls like that are dumb...and limite dialogue! Things are not that cut and dried.

Well, this being a yes or no question, doesn't leave much more room for other options.

you only think that because you exist in this reality, if you existed in mbbot's reality, you wouldn't think that

[power4wardjinx]

Nope. Chicago and Indiana will be better next season, Atlanta too ... Toronto might slip.

Mo/Redd/Jefferson is a disaster waiting to happen, and add Charlie V into that mix and you've got a team that will lose three of four to Indiana again. Hammond needs to do more to get rid of Skiles' potential headaches before they happen. Give him a few weeks. ....

[power4wardjinx]

Who's the second best center in the East?

[GrandAdmiralDan]

I'll vote yes. If Skiles is the coach we keep saying and hearing he is, he should be able to turn an olympian, a top SF (arguably top five last season) and the "2nd best center in the East" into a .500 team.

Absolutely.

I say yes ATM, although I believe this roster should still be tweaked so that we will be better than we are right now.

[MilBucksBackOnTop06]

I think we're a fringe playoff team, there's still plenty of work to be done regarding the roster and the East can't get much worse than it was last year, so there will be improvement there (broken record year after year, but it'll happen for sure this year). I was amused about the Big 3 thread, I know its purpose was to statistically look at the scoring of those individuals, but there were a few people who said they liked our current team better then the previous Big 3. That's all well and good if you like them as players, but it doesn't automatically translate to wins on the court. I mean if Redd and Mo (assuming they're both still here) aren't playing defense, they won't be on the court to score if Skiles does indeed lay down the law. I have to see Michael Redd show a willingness to pass the ball to his teammates for more than 5 games and not selfishly take over down the stretch. Will Andrew Bogut play competitive basketball before January? Will his tantrums continue? I can't wait to see whose personalities won't mesh with Skiles right off the bat, we'll get a good indication of who is moving next February.

I said this once, and I will say it again...I think they should trade Redd and move on! Hell. I might even keep Mo Williams to come off the bench depends on what you get with Redd.

I would send him to the Clippers in a deal for Elton Brand or Maggette and Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan. Or get in a three team deal to make something else happen.

DAMN I RATHER HAVE ERIC GORDON...darn Clippers!!! I just as soon start over now that the Bulls have Rose.

I wanted a rivalry pick that would transcend the divsion and make this fun and enticing to go see. Rose vs Gordon or Mayo is what I wanted in the same region.

That would have been high drama and worth the wait and price of admission for my troubles if we had that.

I do not know the specfics of Brand's deal and opt out clause and he is said to want to go to Miami for some reason, (South Beach cruising?) but either he or Marion and Haslem would do.

Redd has some years left on his deal, but it is escalating. I say drop him now before it is too late and move on...and build around Bogut, Jefferson and Alexander. Or chose between Alexander and CVill as to who will stay.

In hindsight the Bucks might have been better off drafting Brooke Lopez then Alexander but I like Joe as well...so it is not a big deal but still something they could have done...

But it would be safe for them to keep Redd, Jefferson, Bogut and Alexander and move the rest of them...We'll see.

[dunhill]

Depends a lot on Skiles, as it stands in terms of personel they're on par with Atlanta at least. So I don't know, if JA is the 6th man and can contribute a solid 5-10 mins at PF and 10-15 mins at sf as rookie and Skiles' gets this team to improve defensively 7or8 spots in the points allowed/fg% allowed, I'd realistically expect a 10-15 win improvement which is right in the middle of the 6th, 7th and 8th seeds.

It's more of a question of who's gone backwards really out of the teams in that bunch, NJ has, THe Wizards are ? with what they do with Jamison and Arenas. the BUlls, Pacers and Atlanta have stayed put. IMO only the top 5 teams remain the same.

But the biggest problem IMO is still chemistry and overall team morale. Ac ouple of people need to STFU and a couple need to speak up. If it pretty much stays the same as last year well, see you in the lottery. Also adding a a legitimate star and 20ppg scorer well that also needs time to work itself out.

[andonewheel]

Right now I'd guess not quite, but it's a pointless question because in all likelihood the current roster will never play a single game all together. Nobody can predict how teams like Philly/Indy/Washington/etc will look next year and how they'll perform just yet.

I'd love to have our roster become fleshed out in the next couple weeks but after some thought I doubt that is in our best interest. I'd like to play the preseason and around a month's worth of regular season games and give Sessions a chance to take the starting PG job. Obviously what he did at the end of last year wasn't in meaningful minutes, but it was still against NBA talent and he put up ridiculous numbers. I'd hate to trade away assets to bring in a PG that we may end up not needing. I can't imagine all the available PGs/PFs we'd be interested in would find new homes leaving us without any options. Who knows, maybe Skiles can get everyone to play defense and our offense will become refocused if we are winning. Then again maybe Skiles won't like Sessions because he'll threaten Skiles' assist record...

[Dags]

As it stands we have 4 bad defenders in the starting 5. Can't win with that.

We could have 4 dynamic scorers in the starting 5, but all of them are pretty selfish. And with one ball and no true pass-first PG, there's no way to have a dynamic offense.

Zero defense and a poor team offense = a 30 game season.

Skiles can't make this team play defense. I thought we learned least season that these players just don't give a damn about that side of the court. All that's going to happen is more locker room tension.

[Chapter29]

I say its possible given better chemistry. RJ Does bring quite a bit and our Chemistry is almost certain to be better. In all likelihood though Hammond should not be done making deals. Take the talent and turn it into a team.

The FC rotation right now is very weak and I am not counting on Alexander or Moute to fill in there. They have a lot to prove. CV at this moment is our only real PF (eeeek!) and Gadz is our backup C. That is ugly. I would rather lean a bit harder on Bell in the backcourt than deal with a super soft FC like we have atm. Besides Bell at least brings defense.

Mo for AV works for me. Mason for a PG to provide depth? I wouldn't mind keeping him really, but moving Mo does create a weak spot at PG. The key is Sessions. Is this guy really any good? I would like to think so, but who knows. Hopefully Hammond I guess.

[old skool]

The Bucks can contend for a playoff spot with this current roster.

Jefferson is a huge upgrade at SF over the Mason/Simmons combo.

CV and almost anybody is better at PF than the production of Yi/CV last season.

There should not be any pressure to play any rookies this season, while last year Yi was expected to play a major role.

Redd should have a much better season with a legitimate scorer on the floor to take some pressure off him and force the defense to spread some of their attention elsewhere.

Bogut seems to be on the ascent.

Mo and Bell should be in better shape without having spent the summer avoiding the risk of workout injury due to pending contract negotiations.

All of the Bucks relatively young players should benefit from more experience playing together.

sKiles has more head coaching experience than their last three coaches combined.

Injuries, the bench and team chemistry are all unknowns at this point. Ditto for how other potential playoff teams will perform.

oLd sKool

[emunney]

Mo and Bell should be in better shape without having spent the summer avoiding the risk of workout injury due to pending contract negotiations.

Let the record show that Mo worked with Joe Abunassar last summer.

[75totheMACCfund]

No replies necessary...simple poll question...it's rather obvious that more moves are going to be made...but, with the team as is, could it make the playoffs in the East? I know there are rosters spots that need to be filled...

I hate polls that do not have another option besides yes or no! Polls like that are dumb...and limite dialogue! Things are not that cut and dried.

Even the ballot box has a third choice. You can't make a definite answer right now! There is the view on paper and then there are other things you look at.

Yes and no! I can't answer this question now. None of you can with the history of this team the past 5 years regardless to how the roster looks!

We can all lean one way or another and I lean towards Yes, but it is not a definite Yes because you need a PF and PG and other teams are improving and some are falling back.

The Pistons, Nets, Cavs, Heat and a few other teams are taking steps back to the pack.

Those spots will be taken by the Knicks, Wizards, Bulls, Magic along with the Celtics and Raptors. Free agency will dictate what the up and coming powers the Sixers, Hawks, and Bobcats will do...

But I did not answer your poll because I am waiting to see what they do in the coming weeks of free agency. The Bucks could move from out of the lottery to my favorite to win a top 3-5 spot in the East!

They could be next year's Boston to a certain extent if they get the right PF and PG and add the right depth...They can make a big jump. But so can Toronto and the Magic.

If this helps you out I will make my rankings as of this draft.

#1. Boston:Until someone knocks them off they are still the Champs. Have to resign Posey.
#2. Cavs:LeBron is LeBron...
#3. Raptors: Twin towers will be a load to handle. Need a SG to seal the deal.
#4. Pistons: Don't know what they do. But as of today...
#5. Magic:Get D. Howard some help and PG they can win the East!
#6. Wizards: Healthy Arenas and Jamison if they return will be a factor.
#7. Knicks: D'Antoni style and coaching prowess will make huge impact with Walsh running show.
#8 Hawks, Sixers, Bulls...then Bucks???? Pacers, Nets, Bobcats...

I have the Bucks a borderline 8th seed as of right now. They are two more moves and players away from the 8th seed to all the way up to the 4th or 5th seed depending on who they bring in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKjxFJfcrcA

[EastSideBucksFan]

As the roster is currently constructed, I voted no.


We don't have enough frontcourt depth, we don't have a "bruiser" on the roster to hit the glass.

We don't have a real point guard.


Thankfully Hammond is not done and knows there are still holes to be filled.

[Ruben Douglas]

The Bucks aren't in a "win now" mode, they are in a "compete now" mode. There are still too many young guys on the team and Hammond isn't sacrificing the future of the team for the present...hence, it's not a win now situation. But what Hammond is doing is making the Bucks a more competitive and better team while still keeping the youth in tact...CV, Bogut, Sessions, drafting Alexander. Trading Yi was an excuse to dump a bad contract and hopefully trading while Yi still had value.

It is also premature to ask if the Bucks are a playoff team. There is still alot of work to be done. But as long as Mo is on the team the bucks aren't in the playoffs.

[WEFFPIM]

I hate polls that do not have another option besides yes or no! Polls like that are dumb...and limite dialogue! Things are not that cut and dried.

Well, this being a yes or no question, doesn't leave much more room for other options.

you only think that because you exist in this reality, if you existed in mbbot's reality, you wouldn't think that

I was in MBBOT's reality once. It was messy, and there was a shortage of chairs

[Wise1]

I'd say no. The team once again will have to adjust to a new coach and new players. Still work to do on the roster. Particularly at the 4.