NBA JAM: MILWAUKEE BUCKS

In our continuing rundown on the NBA season, Neate looks at the Central Division, specifically the Milwaukee Bucks.

Last season: 40-42, 8th in Eastern Conference, lost to Detroit in first round of playoffs
Coach: Terry Stotts
New faces: Charlie Villanueva, Steve Blake
Funny-looking white guy: Andrew Bogut
Blogs: 5-Point Bucks

Like the Raptors, Milwaukee, who comes to town for Toronto's home opener on Friday, had a very busy off-season. Of course, what grabbed the most attention was the Charlie Villanueva-for-T.J. Ford deal. Believe you me, there's reason to believe the armchair GMs will still be analyzing this deal to death in 2015.

A lot of people believe the Bucks hornswoggled the Raptors but good in trading for a 6-foot-11 guy who can play either forward spot and had a 48-point game in his rookie season. Neil will likely cover this off in his Raptors preview, but the reality is Charlie V and Chris Bosh probably were never going to happily co-exist in T.O., since they were essentially trying to play the same position.

As for the Bucks, there's a lot to like about this team. Michael Redd is the alpha dog of this team, putting up 25 points per game. He was Milwaukee's top scorer in 63 of their 82 games last season; the only other Buck to ever do that was the guy who played Capt. Roger Murdoch in Airplane!

Their new point guard, former Maryland Terps star Steve Blake, is the quiet model of economy and efficiency who's probably a better fit than Ford was for the more patient game the Bucks prefer. Meantime, in Bogut and Charlie V, the Bucks have the reigning second- and third-place finishers in the '05-06 Rookie of the Year balloting.

The big bugaboo with the Bucks last season was consistency, and toughness. They should hire Charles Oakley just to come in and do something antisocial each day, just to light a fire under the young turks, Bogut and Villaneuva. Ultimately, Milwaukee has a fair bit of talent, and there's going to be nights this winter where you catch part of their game or see some highlights and wonder how in the world they're only a .500 team in the Eastern Conference.

Also in Central Division: Chicago Bulls

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