How Can You Not Like These Guys?

There's something strange going on in the city. Strange and wonderful, actually. And it's emanating from the Bradley Center.

The Milwaukee Bucks are 28-31 (heading into the game against Dallas tomorrow night). Most NBA teams wouldn't be satisfied with that kind of record, but then again these are the Bucks. Let's rewind to a year ago at this time. The Bucks were in the middle of a 26-56 season in which players didn't care, didn't like each other, and just wanted to go home. The few fans that bothered coming to the games decided to let Senator Herb Kohl know how they felt by wearing paper bags on their heads and surrounding him during a loss to the Boston Celtics (the night has since been named 'The Paper Bag Revolt'). It was a bad scene.

If you'd like to go back further, we can oblige. Two years ago at this time, the coaching tenure of Terry Stotts was circling the drain. Defense was a foreign concept. Injuries were starting to pile up and there was no one able to step up and fill the void. Players like Jared Reiner were getting minutes on a nightly basis for goodness sakes!

It's a completely different story now. At 28-31, the Bucks are eighth in the Eastern Conference. And if you look closely at the standings, it's not that hard to imagine them moving up a spot or two. Detroit hasn't set the world on fire as some thought they would since the Allen Iverson trade. Philadelphia is an interesting team that has played better since the injury to Elton Brand, but they don't scare me like Cleveland or Boston do.

Yes, these are good times to be a Bucks fan.

If I had told you the Bucks would be this Close to being .500 without Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut in November, you would have told me I was crazy. If I had told you the Bucks, without Redd and Bogut (their leading scorer and rebounder) would be in the thick of a playoff race, you would have told me I had lost my mind. But they are this close to .500 and they are in the thick of a playoff race.

They are doing it with Richard Jefferson, who (according to reports and speculation) wasn't thrilled with the trade that brought him here last June. He has been everything that he was cracked up to be and then some. He may not score like Redd. He may not rebound like Bogut. But he has been there before. He's been on teams that have won. He's been on teams that have made playoff runs. He has been a good leader for the younger guys who haven't gone through the NBA grind before.

And speaking of the young guys, let's talk about them for a second. When Ramon Sessions was promoted from the D-League a year ago and played the way he did in a late season audition, I was one of those skeptics that wasn't sure what I saw was real. I had arguments with people who said he could be a quality player in this league. I wasn't sure about that a year ago. I am happy to say I was wrong. Is he a true point guard? Maybe not. Is he an full time off-guard? Maybe not. But guess what, it doesn't matter. Sessions is playing and playing well. He has erased any doubt that he could perform at this level. He is the kind of player you'd like to see the Bucks be able to keep when he hits the market as a restricted free agent this summer.

And then there is Charlie Villanueva. He was frustrating to watch in his first couple of years in Milwaukee. There were the injuries that limited him to just thirty-nine games a couple of years ago. There was the inconsistency he displayed last year, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Maybe more than anyone, he has stepped his game up since the injuries to Redd and Bogut. He has scored twenty-five or more points eight times in the last month. He hasn't been held to single digits since January seventeenth when he scored just eight points against the Clippers. He scored a season high thirty-six in Sunday night's win over the Nuggets. He's even showing life on the defensive side of the floor, notching double digits in rebounds twice in his last three games and twelve times total this season. Like Sessions, he's the kind of player you'd like to see the Bucks hang on to when he hits the market as a restricted free agent this summer as well.

The Bucks are also hanging in there despite the cloud that is the NBA luxury tax hanging over them. The thinking is that Senator Kohl wants no part of paying that tax. That holding on to Sessions and Villanueva isn't going to be easy unless they move Jefferson and his salary. That is why the Bucks (according to the reports) were aggressively shopping Jefferson near the trade deadline. That's why there was so much talk about Jefferson going to Portland for a package including Raef LaFrentz and his expiring contract.

But the Bucks didn't bite on Portland's offer. They also didn't bite when Cleveland tried to pry RJ away at the last second. The Senator and GM John Hammond decided to go 'all in' with what they had. They decided they could wait until June to move Jefferson, which you'll have to think they will consider their desire to hold on to Sessions and/or Villanueva.

The organization decided that wins now are more important than financial security next season. The organization decided they owed it to their long suffering fans to give them the best chance at making the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-2006 season as opposed to tearing it down and 'waiting till next year' once again.

Now, there's no guarantee that the Bucks will make the playoffs. There are still twenty-three games left in the regular season and anything is possible. But they were in the thick of things before the deadline last week. They are in the thick of things now. And, of course, this is the Eastern Conference, where a below .500 record could very well get you into the post-season.

And, as the Atlanta Hawks showed everyone last season, making the playoffs is better than not sitting at home. The Hawks won just thirty-seven games a year ago and barely made the playoffs, where they were matched against the mighty Celtics. On paper it was supposed to be a rout. But, the Hawks somehow managed to push Boston and The Big Three to seven games. Once you're in the playoffs, anything can happen. The Hawks sure don't regret making the party the way they did last year.

For better or worse, these Bucks, undermanned, and seemingly not as talented as the NBA's elite, are doing everything they can to give their fan base something to look forward to. The playoffs.

How can you not like these guys?

Check out my podcast today and find out why I won't give Buzz Williams my stamp of approval just yet!