Why the Bucks WILL make the playoffs

	Sam Cassell and Gary Payton know what it takes to make the playoffs.

1. Gary Payton. The addition of Payton gives them a tremendous amount of leadership. Payton and Sam Cassell have both been to the Finals and know the hard work that it takes to get there. With those two guys in their backcourt, pressure-filled games won't get too big for them. Both are clutch shot-makers and they can really help young guys like Michael Redd and Tim Thomas, who have not experienced that pressure.

2. They can score. Milwaukee has a very good offensive team. The Bucks' ability to score puts pressure on you to stop them. They have six players averaging double figures in scoring, and any one of those guys can light you up.

3. George Karl. Karl is a very good basketball coach. He'll know the right buttons to push down the stretch to get the Bucks to win games. He just got a big win out of them on Wednesday night when the Bucks demolished the Nets, the current No. 2 seed in the East and the leader in the Atlantic Division.

Why the Bucks WON'T make the playoffs
1. Poor boardwork. The Bucks are simply not a good defensive rebounding team. To offset their lack of defensive rebounding, Karl should go into a zone and trust his team. That will help them rebound defensively and take individual pressure off his players to play straight-up man defense.

2. Leaky D. They're not a good defensive team. Karl should have taken a page out of Don Nelson's book when it comes to defense. Make adjustments! When you don't have good, solid defensive players, you have to make the proper adjustments and that would be to play zone defense. If Karl would stop being stubborn and play the zone, it would help his team tremendously.

3. Lack of size. The Bucks are a small team. This is what hurts them the most in terms of defense and defensive rebounding. Guys like Redd and Thomas are just not big enough to make a difference on that end of the floor, something that could haunt them down the stretch in big games.

Fred Carter is an NBA analyst for ESPN.