It had been 10 non-lockout seasons since the Milwaukee Bucks won more games than they lost. So, you can't blame fans in Wisconsin for acting totally giddy when their team went 42-40, took the soon-to-be East champs to the final seconds of the first round and took all the steps this offseason that were needed.

	Ray Allen emerged last season and led the team with 22.1 points a game.

The decade of the 1990s was not kind to the Bucks. But the new millennium is looking better so far, partly because of owner Sen. Herb Kohl's willingness to spend the big bucks that are vital to winning in the NBA. Is Tim Thomas worth $67 million? Maybe, maybe not, but the fact he got the money at all says a lot about where things are heading in Milwaukee.

With that we give you our 15th offseason team spotlight, the Milwaukee Bucks. As always, we have our opinions, which are below, but we also appreciate yours. Click on the file to the right to see what you were thinking (note, you were very, very positive) about the Bucks.

Why the Bucks were 42-40: Winning only two more games than you lose might seem like no big deal, but put things in perspective. Five Bucks coaches since the 1990-91 season had a shot to get the Bucks over .500, and all of them failed. Say what you will these days about Don Nelson, but he won seven Central Division titles in the '80s. Del Harris then had four playoff seasons before he was gone. Frank Hamblen was bad. Mike Dunleavy had four years of nothing. Chris Ford won 69 games combined in two years. And then came the George Karl era. The team has made the playoffs in both Karl's years on the bench.

Led by one of the top scoring triumvirates in the NBA, the Bucks averaged 101.2 points per game, more than all but four teams. Naturally, that led to some problems on the other end, where the Bucks allowed just as many. But they sure were exciting, weren't they? Underachievers for much of the year, the Bucks finished with wins in 10 of their final 13 games, good enough to earn the East's No. 8 seed. Once there, they pushed the Pacers to a decisive Game 5 and led for much of the fourth quarter before losing by a single point.

Ray Allen (22.1 points), Glenn Robinson (20.9) and Sam Cassell (18.6) took care of the offense and logged huge minutes. Ultimately, the reason Milwaukee lost 40 games was that none of these guys are taller than 6-7. Thomas, although not really a big man, does have size and now he's going to be around for awhile. He can play a few positions, and rumor has it the Bucks wouldn't mind moving Robinson to make room in the starting lineup for Thomas.

What really held the Bucks back was their frontcourt. Ervin Johnson does nothing on offense, and while he did average 8.1 rebounds and block some shots, he's not worthy of starting or playing 30 minutes a night. The power forward most of the time was Bulls and Sixers retread Scott Williams, who put out maximum effort and produced the best statistical season of his 10-year career, but scares few opponents. Forwards Danny Manning, J.R. Reid and Robert Traylor weren't even playable by the end of the season, and not surprising, all are now somewhere else. That in itself is a good sign.

	Current projected top 6
	PG	Sam Cassell
	SG	Ray Allen
	SF	Glenn Robinson
	PF	Jason Caffey
	C	Joel Przybilla
	6th	Tim Thomas

Team MVP: Yes, the kid's got game. Allen still hasn't missed a contest in his four-year career, and now he's the team's leading scorer and one of the most dangerous 3-point threats around. Team LVP: The frontcourt had a few of them. Manning's scoring average from the previous year was divided in half, Reid couldn't hit a shot or grab a rebound, and Traylor continued to look like a lottery bust. Darvin Ham played power forward sometimes. What does that tell you? Surprise! Where would the Bucks have been without Williams, who contributed 7.6 points and 6.6 rebounds? He hadn't really contributed in years, and he ended up starting 46 games. Up and comer: Thomas was a disappointment in Philadelphia, and ended up being dealt along with Williams for Tyrone Hill. That deal's looking good today.

What they need: The Bucks certainly seem to know what they're doing. Forget about bringing Thomas back for a second. The Bucks had the No. 15 pick in the draft, but convinced Houston (at No. 9) to trade Joel Przybilla to them for the rights to Jason Collier and a future pick. This is significant. Przybilla can rebound and block shots right away, certainly as well as Johnson can, and he doesn't need to score a ton this year. The Minnesota product was generally regarded as the second-best center available. Whether Johnson or Przybilla starts right away is not a big deal.

The other major thing the Bucks did was move mistakes Reid and Traylor in a three-way deal to Cleveland in which the Bucks picked up Jason Caffey and Billy Owens from the Warriors. Owens was a throwaway, but Caffey has skills. While it seems like Caffey has had a lot of chances already, he's still only 27 and is coming off a better season than any other Bucks big man had. Caffey, in six years with the Bulls and Warriors, was always able to make his shots and grab a few boards in limited time. Last year, he was given 30 minutes a night, and it's a bit surprising that the Warriors parted with him when he's pretty much what they need (they got Bobby Sura and Vinny Del Negro in the deal). Caffey should start right away.

Michael Redd was a solid second-round pick who has a chance to stick as a backup guard, especially with Del Negro leaving. Small forward Ham is a free agent who saw significant time when he was around, and he's likely to return. Owens is certainly capable of giving the team a decent 20 minutes a night. And backing up Cassell will be Rafer Alston, who was a Karl favorite a year ago and won himself a job with great play in the summer leagues.

What the plan is: The Bucks have options, which doesn't normally occur. Each member of the starting lineup, except for center, is capable of 20 points on any given night. The Bucks also have enough depth so that a repeat of the really short rotation in the Pacers series doesn't have to happen again. With young legs, decent size potentially and a coach who has playoff experience, the Bucks certainly plan to top the 42 wins from last season.

Assuming Big Dog isn't sent elsewhere -- and that's only likely to happen if Przybilla proves he can't play -- Thomas is going to come off the bench. There are rumors that he only came back to Milwaukee because he was promised a starting spot, but it doesn't currently exist. Karl likes to play the 6-10 Thomas at guard, where he can handle the ball and present huge matchup problems for virtually everyone.

The Bucks play seven of their first 11 games at the Bradley Center this season, and need to get off to a good start. Inconsistent play was a big problem last year. The Bucks won their first three games of the season, but that was the team's longest winning streak. Few playoff teams were capable of big wins (by 50 over Charlotte, big playoff win at Conseco Fieldhouse) and bad losses (Chicago, New Jersey, Boston all after March began).

Direction heading: With nothing lost from last season, and the problem at center and power forward possibly solved, this is a playoff team. But are the Bucks a 50-win team? Probably not.