Nowhere has the injury bug bit harder than in America’s drunkest city.

After ringing in the new year with five straight losses, the Milwaukee Bucks finally got their first win of 2007 on the year’s 15th day — but with a considerably different lineup than they’re accustomed to.

Milwaukee ended its longest losing streak of the season with a victory over the Charlotte Bobcats, despite missing four of five projected starters from the training camp depth chart.

While the Bucks have been finding themselves on the wrong end of the box score more often than not lately, they can hardly be blamed. Nowhere has the injury bug bit harder than in America’s drunkest city.

With Bobby Simmons already sitting out the year with a bum foot, the Bucks knew they would be shorthanded coming into the 2006-’07 season. They started slow without last year’s prize free agent, but Ruben Patterson has filled in nicely at small forward, helping the Bucks earn a winning record at the calendar year’s end.

Unfortunately, Simmons has recently found himself surrounded by some unwelcome company on the injured list. Star shooting guard Michael Redd went down with a strained tendon in his left knee and, heartbreaker that he is, likely won’t be back until sometime after Valentine’s Day.

Fellow backcourt mate Mo Williams soon followed Redd’s lead, and will miss 2 to 3 weeks with a shoulder injury.

Then, of course, there’s Charlie Villanueva, who has had the day-to-day tag next to his name since his plane first landed in Milwaukee. Villanueva, who was acquired in the trade that sent even-more-injury-prone T.J. Ford to Canada, seems to be playing about as often as he shaves (he suffers from Alopecia Areata, a condition which disallows his body to grow hair).

Considering that the Bucks are single-handedly keeping Froedtert Hospital in business these days, it’s a minor miracle that they’re still hovering around the eighth playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

Sure, it helps that the East, which includes a division in which no team currently has a winning record, is as bad as it is. But it’s an even bigger help that General Manager Larry Harris is as good as he is.

Harris, with the knowledge that this Bucks’ team — when healthy — has a chance to surprise the conference come playoff time, pulled off one of the most lopsided deals in recent memory. The G.M. got rid of the most unproductive player on the roster, point guard Steve Blake.

What’s more, he actually got something in return for him! He shipped Blake to Denver for 5-foot-5 point guard Earl Boykins and guard Julius Hodge, in a deal that will both help keep Milwaukee competitive in the short-term and add extreme depth to the club in the long-term.

Boykins, the second shortest player in NBA history, is a fan favorite because of his unusual height and electrifying style of play, and has already showed the team how beneficial he can be for them. Hodge was selected by the Nuggets in the first round of last year’s draft, and though he needs a little polishing, he has the potential to be a great player in the league.

The addition of these two players (plus the addition-by-subtraction of Blake) might just be enough to get the Red and Green through these injury-riddled times.

Be it Band-Aids or Earl Boykins, the Bucks are finding that big things really do come in small packages.

Just like NBA Championship rings.

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