Malik Allen is in his first year with the Bucks. He played under Scott Skiles during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. (Getty)

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November 4, 2008

MILWAUKEE -- If National Basketball Association teams determined the composition of their rosters strictly using a measuring tape, a stopwatch and one of those contraptions that measures vertical jump, Malik Allen would most likely be doing something other than playing professional hoops for a living.

Over Allen’s eight seasons in the NBA, he has rarely, if ever, been the quickest or the fastest player on his team, or the most prolific jumper. Many of his teammates and opponents have been taller. He entered the NBA undrafted, yet he has played for six different franchises during his years in the league.

Until someone comes up with a machine that gauges savvy, hustle, commitment and accountability, the value of Allen and players like him will be fully recognized, understood and appreciated by only a tiny segment of our population. And most of those folks occupy seats belonging to NBA executives, scouts and coaches.

Allen made his regular-season debut as a Milwaukee Buck on Oct. 28 against the Chicago Bulls. He did so as a reserve, a role he has filled in almost 70 percent of the nearly 400 NBA games he has played. In the 20 minutes Allen played, he put together a stat line as efficient as anyone’s who set foot on the court that night, making five shots in seven attempts and collecting 10 points, two rebounds, one assist, one blocked shot and just one turnover.

If those numbers came as a surprise to anyone, it wasn’t Allen. And it wasn’t his coach, Scott Skiles, either. From their perspectives, those totals represented business as usual.

The 30-year-old Allen was the only member of the Bucks’ opening-night roster who had ever played a regular-season game under Skiles prior to last week. They spent parts of three seasons together with, coincidentally enough, the Chicago Bulls.

So Allen’s performance at the United Center was like old times for himself and for his coach.

“Malik has always been a very reliable player,” Skiles said . “He's always going to be in the right place at the right time, and he knows what his team is doing.

“He executes the game plan and makes shots. Malik figured out early on what his game was.”

Allen hasn’t wavered from that, either.

“I think for myself personally, coming to Milwaukee was a good opportunity to come and play,” Allen said. “I know Coach Skiles and how he likes to play. And it's a challenge, no question.

“When I was with Chicago, I started out just playing for him and eventually went to starting for him. I've been in all sorts of situations and I feel comfortable in any kind of role. I know I can help this team with what we're trying to achieve. With the pieces we have, I feel I can fit right in.”

The Bucks signed the 6-foot-10-inch, 255-pound Allen to a free-agent contract July 17, 2008. Allen realized at the time that Milwaukee was coming off several lean years, so he signed on with both eyes open.

“I like the guys that are here,” he said. “I've always liked Andrew (Bogut) as a player and thought that he's really a guy you can build around. They've obviously made a commitment to him. And you know Michael (Redd). He's obviously one of the most talented offensive players in our league. Once they got Richard (Jefferson), I thought this was a team that could really compete in the East.

“I couldn't say that we're Boston, but if we work hard each and every day, we could be good.”

Allen was impressed with what he saw each day in his first Milwaukee training camp.

“Everybody has worked really hard and has been really receptive as far as what we're trying to do,” he said. “The effort is there. That's the important thing.”

Allen has played for teams like the Bucks that are trying to change course. He has played for contenders, too. And he has seen the difference.

He has witnessed how winning breeds success. He realizes there are coaches and players who demand a great deal from themselves and those around them, and that there are others who may let things slide from time to time.

“No question,” he said. “I think one of the big things, too, is that you're going to have guys who've been in places and in situations where you aren't successful.

“When you've won a bunch of championships, like San Antonio, you just keep the train running. But when you're in a situation like us, you almost need to reel back in and start from the ground up and try to build a new foundation.

“And I think, overall, we have a very good group of guys that we can do that with. And that's the bottom line. That's all you can really hope for when you're trying to turn things around.”

The turnaround the Bucks are trying to achieve would at some point include a return to the NBA Playoffs. Four members of the Milwaukee roster have never competed in the playoffs, and four others have just 26 games of playoff experience between them.

Allen, though, has been there and done that – four times in his previous seven NBA seasons.

So if Skiles never needs a guy who can help provide his first Bucks squad with directions, he knows where he can find him.