Charlie Bell has been a key player during Milwaukee's recent surge, averaging 19.7 points over his last 3 games - all Bucks wins. (Getty)

Print

RSS Feeds

FastBreak

Tix

January 10, 2008

MILWAUKEE -- Even in the big man's domain that is the National Basketball Association, a seemingly small thing can tip the scales in a dramatically different direction.

Sometimes a team needs to have its backs to the wall before it discovers what it is made of.

And even in a league inhabited by the most advanced players in the world, a return to the game's basics can have a profound impact.

Just check out the Milwaukee Bucks.

After struggling through a 4-12 month of December, they entered their second game of the new year without their leading scorer, Michael Redd, who was sidelined with a left thigh contusion; their starting small forward, Desmond Mason, out for four to six weeks after undergoing left thumb surgery; and backup center Jake Voskuhl, hobbled by a right hip strain.

Making matters worse, many of their healthy players' shooting percentages were plummeting, they were committing too many unforced turnovers, and their opponents' field-goal percentage was on the rise.

Taking all of these factors into account, the adversity facing the Bucks was at a season high.

So the players held a few-closed door meetings, took a collective look in the mirror, and coaches and players alike made a renewed commitment to solve the matter together.

The results were the first three-game road winning streak of the season, the first stretch of three consecutive wins since November, and dramatically different expressions in the locker room.

The transformation began with a 103-98 win in Miami on Jan. 2. It continued with road victories of 93-89 in Charlotte on Jan. 6 and in Philadelphia on Jan. 8. And it followed the team home during a 98-92 win over Miami at the Bradley Center on Jan. 9.

The three consecutive wins were accomplished without Michael Redd and his 23.4 points per game, but in their aftermath, the team captain wearing the street clothes was grinning just as widely as any of his teammates.

"It was no surprise to me," Redd said. "We have a talented team. That's the beauty of our team this year. We have a lot of guys who can play. So it doesn't surprise me how well the team has played. Hopefully we can continue playing the way we've been playing."

Something happened during the turnabout that may seem insignificant to the average fan, but worked wonders in the minds of several of the Bucks.

"We've had some good times the last couple of days," Redd said. "We got a big win in Charlotte, then we went out the next day as a group and had some good times. We did some bowling, played some pool, and just rode our momentum and got some good vibes running through the team. Then we went out in Philly and played really well again.

"I wasn't over bowling a lot, but I heard everybody did well. I was playing pool. I ran the pool table, and nobody could beat me. I won like seven straight games. All of the guys and even the coaches played. It was just good for our team and our chemistry to get out and do something."

Center Andrew Bogut agreed, and believes the experience had a positive impact.

"Teams do that in college a lot, and I think it's very important," he said. "In the NBA, when you're in town, you're with your friends or family, and when you're on the road, you're by yourself a lot. You don't see the guys a lot that you're with on the basketball court, especially if you're losing games. It can reach a point where you don't want to see them at all.

"So we went bowling, played billiards, had a couple of drinks and a good meal. Nobody even said anything about a game, and I think something like that can go a long way."

Charlie Bell believes it can and hopes it will.

"Sometimes in the NBA, there's a lot of me, me, me, a lot of individual," Bell said. "It's not like college, when being on the road means having roommates and eating every meal together. Everything is kind of individual.

"Sometimes it gets that way on the court. If you don't really know a guy that well and don't have a relationship where you can just go to a guy and tell him, 'Hey, I was open,' or this or that, that can be important. That's what it's all about. You have to build relationships.

"There's been a lot of that going on now. We've been taking that warrior mentality going out there on the road, just us against the world. We hadn't been playing well, everybody's been counting us out, we've lacked confidence in ourselves, but we've built that confidence and we've started winning games."

The team bonding and the collective warrior mentality have been accompanied by a fundamental, share-the-basketball approach on the court.

"'Coach K' shows us stats all the time and tells us about moving the ball," guard Charlie Bell said. "We've just got to keep pounding it into our heads, and keep telling each other, 'I was open,' or 'That guy was open.'

"And when a guy goes out, everybody has to step up. It has to be a collective effort. That's what's happened. We've got to continue to play this way when Mike (Redd) comes back. It's going to be tough for teams to guard us."

Bell, mired in a shooting slump during the early stages of the season, has been at the center of the team's transformation.

He followed up a season-high, 27-point performance in the win at Charlotte with a 21-point outing in the victory at Philly, then played his typical all-around game in the home win over Miami.

Redd has enjoyed watching Bell's breakthrough.

"The thing with him is we've continued to encourage him, letting him know every day, 'Things are going to turn around for you. Just keep working, keep shooting the basketball, have confidence and it'll come,'" Redd said. "We need him. We need him in order to win.

"I saw a change in him in Miami. He had a big energy game for us in that game. In Charlotte and Philly, he was outstanding. He's kind of been like our Vinnie Johnson off the bench -- ready to rock and roll.

"If we get healthy, I like our chances."

Krystkowiak does, too, but he knows the Bucks can't allow themselves to rest. So he won't, either.

"Confidence is a funny thing," he said. "We're feeling better about ourselves. But we need to keep plugging. We've got a lot of areas we can improve on.

"We're playing some of the upper-echelon teams now the next few weeks. We're one of those teams in the lower half of the league. Earlier in the season, when we were playing the Phillys, the Atlantas and the New Yorks, for whatever reason, it was expected that we had the 'W' chalked up and we didn't come out and play very well. In the games where we were the underdog, we played well.

"It's been kind of nice to reverse those fortunes a little bit, compete against those teams that are in our neighborhood and get some wins, including a couple of them on the road."

Krystkowiak likes his team's direction, but knows the Bucks cannot afford to veer off-course.

"We're feeling good about what we're doing," he said. "I think the roles are defined. Guys are seeing the ball go in a fair number of times, whereas earlier we were having a problem in that regard.

"Teamwise, though, we're still turning it over too much. Defensively, we've got our lapses. But the guys keep working hard, and we'll keep addressing some of the issues that we have as a team. We'll take whatever confidence we can get as the ball starts going in more often and we're starting to win more games."

And, if needed, locate the nearest bowling alley and knock 'em down or rack 'em up again.