@Steve, what the bucks do right at this point is

a) play great interior defense (thanks to Sanders)
b) occasionally get a hot hand from one of their guards

The problem here is that part b which largely determines their success is not reliable due to the style of the guards and their shooting abilities. Both of these guards will be costly to resign come the offseason, so adding additional offensive firepower will be difficult if they are to be resigned. A trade or several trades does need to be happen if the Bucks intend to improve and become more consistent.

Sanders is solid, Henson will be a fine player, Ilyasova is good and has more potential, Brandon would be solid as a hybrid guard who was looking for a reasonable salary, Dunleavy and Udrih are top tier reserves, LRMAM can guard the Lebron’s and Carmelo’s of the league… Scrapping the whole thing is a little extreme in my opinion.

I know this is a very simplistic way of looking at the Bucks’ place right now, and there is much more to it, but it’s also not asinine to believe that sometimes the current method works. All they need to do is pinpoint what they do right, and then do that all the time. Obviously that’s more difficult done than said. I don’t think we really need to trade any starters, or at least make a high-risk trade.

My opinion… figure out who on your squad is crucial to building the team you want… meaning, they show the commitment, the passion and the skill to start and succeed, not just generally, but for YOUR team and YOUR city. Does anyone on this squad fit that definition besides Sanders? I personally don’t think so. I think that makes everyone else expendable if by trading them away it helps you get closer to realizing your vision for the squad. And all of us fans need to get it out of our head that the Bucks will be able to draw a top tier / all star caliber player here right now… Maybe in 1988, but not now. Make no mistake that in the eyes of a young NBA player who expects marketing money and a chance to build their personal brand, present day Milwaukee is NBA purgatory. You have to change the perception of this team first before you can lure that top talent, and that starts from within… a clear, consistent, communicated vision, identify your core pieces and keep them happy, bring in a bold coach who can translate that vision into action, and draft or acquire the mid-level pieces that will help you continue down to road to achieving your vision. With that, build consistent success on the court until a moment where maybe you CAN land that critical last all-star piece.

I would argue that NONE of these pieces are in place currently… so this team has a lot of work to do.

The Bucks have good individuals, but
they don’t seem to play well together
as a team. They seem to be indecisive
and to fumble around with the ball,
especially in crunch time — and it
can be so exasperating!!! It’s hard
to know who to blame, and maybe the
point isn’t so much to blame anyone
as it is to make the tough decisions
about who to keep and who to trade —
based on attitudes and abilities.

A couple brief thoughts:

(1)Keep Sanders, Harris, Henson;
play them consistently 15-30 minutes;
give them positive reinforcement through
their ups-and-downs as long as they play
hard physically and mentally and also try
to fit in with the team. By the way,
Harris could be the only other guy besides
the guards who can create offense both inside
and out. Please give him a real chance!

(2)Let’s get a real point guard to run the show
and help guys play together — at least a decent
point guard now at the break, and a top one ASAP.
Jennings and/or Ellis could work well as
2-guards/hybrids/6th-men if they are willing to
accept these roles. They’ll still get shots, but
they need to cut back to save our sanity as fans.

Thanks for any consideration of these thoughts!

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I agree momentum is no magical thing and wins aren’t as important as the objective decisions and actions of each individual possession, but momentum does exist to some extent as a result of the varied psychological states of the players on the floor. Throughout a game the pace and style of play for a given team and player can change a lot, as we’ve seen with the bucks. Players will play more loose/tight, aggressive/passive, fast/slow, smart/careless based on variety of real-time factors such as the outcome of the previous possession/game or string of possessions/games, the caliber of opposing team or player, the score in the game, the actions of teammates, the actions of coaches, the officiating, offcourt issues etc. The bucks change identity and experience “momentum swings” in a single game more dramatically than maybe any other team in the league. I think this is the direct result of two things:

1. Some immaturity among players on the floor. They aren’t showing the mental discipline to consistently work toward executing the gameplan.
2. A lack of confidence in the gameplan itself or a lack of certainty of what the real strategy is or should be.

Jennings in particular seems to be a very emotional player and as a result a player that displays remarkable changes in personal “momentum”.

Whatever happens, I don’t think we’ll soon forget the Ellis / Jennings year!