Milwaukee Bucks Review and Information

The Bucks achieve their goal of recurring to the playoffs last season, but the remade roster still didn't quite mesh. Off-season changes better the team's athleticism and defense, mainly by shipping out undersized point guard T.J. Ford, who was ill-treated by Detroit in the playoffs, to Toronto for 6-11 power forward Charlie Villanueva.

Villanueva's gaining will allow Andrew Bogut to move to his natural position of center and give the Bucks the rangy, mobile front line they will need to run. The exchange is the loss of one of the league's quickest point guards in Ford, who was benched several times last year for not playing hard enough. Ford's replacements, Maurice Williams, Steve Blake and Charlie Bell, will provide improved approach and leadership but lack Ford's natural speed in transition.

The stable, of course, is Michael Redd, who answered question about toughness and his ability to put the Milwaukee Bucks team on his back by staring down the Pistons in the playoff mismatch. Redd has transformed from a unadulterated scorer into more of an all-around player.

Additional improvement, though, is needed from Bobby Simmons, who was a dissatisfaction after signing a big free-agent contract. Both Bogut and Simmons undergo injuries that will keep them out for the initial part of the season. That's going to put force on centers Brian Skinner and Dan Gadzuric, as well as rookie second-round picks Ersan Ilyasova and David Noel. Losing T.J. Ford must not hurt them too much because at the beginning of the year they liked Maurice Williams improved and at the end of the year they really liked Charlie Bell.

Bell can occupy yourself shooting guard, so even without Ford they are very able of going small. And Michael Redd can play some small ahead, with Bell and Williams on the floor together. The problem is that Charlie Villanueva isn't a guy I'd desire to rely on in the paint. He is not a very tough player. He's 6-11, but he wants to shoot from the outside rather than using his size inside. He's soft in that respect. He does not bounce back; he does not defend. For him to be a good starting big man, he needs to learn to do the dirty work.