Bucks’ Off-Season Changes Promise a Winning Season 

The Milwaukee Bucks have a new look, and they are off to a hot start this season.

The Bucks started the season 4-1, and fans are looking ahead to a good season. Off-season changes are a big reason for the success.

The moves include a trade just before the start of the season. Milwaukee traded Desmond Mason and a first-round NBA Draft pick to the New Orleans Hornets for center Jamaal Magloire.

The Bucks fired Terry Porter after last season when the Bucks missed the playoffs. They hired Terry Stotts to replace him.

The Bucks made center, Andrew Bogut, the top pick of the NBA Draft. He has played a role in the team’s early success.

Also, point guard T.J. Ford is healthy again. He has played well since the start of the season. So has forward Bobby Simmons. The Bucks signed him as a free agent.

Milwaukee also re-signed guard Michael Redd to a six-year, $90 million contract last summer.

“We’re a favorite now,” guard Maurice Williams said. “Teams know that Milwaukee is good. So they’re going to come in prepared and ready to play.”

Victories over play-off teams

Milwaukee’s early-season victories came against teams that are expected to make it to the play-offs. The Bucks beat Philadelphia, New Jersey, Miami and Indiana in the first two weeks.

The Indiana game was remarkable.

Milwaukee trailed by 14 points with 3:39 remaining. But they ended up winning on Maurice Williams’ 30-foot jump shot at the sound of the buzzer.

“Whatever people thought of us before, we certainly have drawn attention now,” Stotts told the Journal Sentinel. “They really know us and are really looking at us now.”

Still, it won’t be easy to return to the playoffs. The Bucks play in probably the best division in the NBA, with great teams like Indiana, Detroit, and Chicago.