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No tank job here
Bucks were not motivated to lose
By Post Staff
The Milwaukee Bucks schedule is over, but their season was realistically done about a month ago.
Following the loss to Toronto at the Bradley Center on March 12, coach Terry Stotts was fired and former Bucks player Larry Krystkowiak assumed the role of head coach.
After consecutive victories against the playoff-bound San Antonio Spurs and the young and up-coming Charlotte Bobcats, the Bucks have posted an atrocious 3-12 record, with their only victories coming against a Paul Pierce-less Boston Celtics team twice and the bottom-feeder Atlanta Hawks.
So what happened to Milwaukee, a playoff team last year and supposed postseason contender this year following the trade for Charlie Villanueva and the acquisition of the self-proclaimed Kobe Stopper, Ruben Patterson?
People may feel the Milwaukee Bucks tanked at the end of this year for a better chance at Greg Oden or Kevin Durant, but some of the facts speak quite differently.
First off, many critics point to the Bucks declaring Andrew Bogut, Michael Redd and Villanueva out for the season within a two-week stretch of each other suspicious. But to counter that claim, why risk furthering an injury and risking a career over meaningless games?
It wouldnt seem to make sense for any of them to play through pain so the Bucks can muster up one or two more pointless victories as the risk of their careers. Next season, the Bucks will return all the pieces of their lineup, maybe without Villanueva, but maybe adding Greg Oden or Kevin Durant.
This team is set up well for next year and sitting the stars makes sense; there is nothing unethical about protecting a player and preparing for next season.
Secondly, if the Milwaukee Bucks decided to purposely lose, why in April did they defeat the Celtics twice and the Hawks once, both teams posing as lottery competition for the Kevin Durant/Greg Oden sweepstakes?
Unlike the Celtics, who arguably are deliberately losing, the Bucks are doing their best to continue to win. The Bucks are just not a talented team, especially with four projected starters out for the year.
When players like Lynn Greer and Ersan Ilyasova get substantial minutes, bad things will happen. Lets just hope that the bad things that are happening this year lead to good things happening next year.
By John Raschig
Special to the Post
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