The Bucks Start Here

 The Milwaukee Bucks are the hottest team in the East having won 4 games in a row and 9 of their last 10. They currently sit 5th in the conference with a 1.5 game lead over the Raptors. 

  Few expected them to be so dangerous & they could be destined to give a tough round 1 playoff fight to either Atlanta or Boston, who they beat 86-84 Tuesday night. What makes Milwaukee so good?

  Andrew Bogut is one of the top 5 centers in the NBA. He's 9th in the league in rebounds with10.4/gm and 2nd in blocks with 2.47/gm. He's also the team's 2nd leading scorer with 16.2 ppg in 32 minutes & gives opponents fits with his versatility in the paint. Most recently, he put 25 & 17 on the Celtics & Kendrick Perkins. He's arguably the most dangerous center not named Dwight Howard.

 New addition guard John Salmons has been very strong since his arrival at the trade deadline. In Milwaukee, he's putting up the best numbers of his career with a team leading 18.9 ppg.

 Brandon Jennings is in the running for rookie of the year with 15.8 ppg and 6.1 apg. He scored 55 points on Golden St, the highest total by a rookie in 42 years. And he's tough. The 6'1" 20-year-old stood his ground in a confrontation after 295 pound Celtic Big Baby Davis gave him a hard foul.

 The Bucks also have one of the top up & coming defensive specialists in Cameroon born forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. He said, "The fun part of the game to me is when you can go against a LeBron or Kobe or Carmelo and try to frustrate them. If they're not making shots or they're out of rhythm, I enjoy that. Every time I'm out there, that's my goal."

  Argentian forward Carlos Delfino is having a career year in nearly every statistical category. The Bucks also are getting solid production off the bench from Ersan Ilyasova & Luke Ridnour. 

  Vets like Kurt Thomas and Jerry Stackhouse will be of great help to February's coach of the month Scott Skiles as they teach this cast of young players how to adjust to the more physical nature of playoff basketball.

  Four of the Bucks' remaining 19 games are against the Hawks & Celtics (2 each). They will likely meet one of these two teams in first round of the playoffs. Neither team will find an easy series with the Bucks.