As the end of the season approaches, the Milwaukee Bucks are showing more and more signs of being a serious contender. Their wins on this current road trip, over San Antonio and Sacramento, have been very impressive.

	Ray Allen and the rest of the Bucks can score, but it's their improved rebounding that may carry them in the playoffs.

They seem to have great confidence in themselves. Even at the beginning of the season when they were struggling, the Bucks were a confident team. Every last man seemed to think they would work themselves out of the slump.

Milwaukee will not shut people down defensively. But they have the ability to get enough stops and their rebounding has improved dramatically. The bump in rebound production has coincided with the return of Scott Williams and Darvin Ham, but other players are involved as well. Ervin Johnson leads the team and snagged 14 boards against the Kings Tuesday, and Jason Caffey has also been doing good things for them. They don't have one or two guys who dominate the boards, but among those four they are beginning to do the job on the glass.

Combine their improved rebounding with their apparent ability to score big numbers against any team, and they will be dangerous in the playoffs. Their road record is not outstanding at 19-17 but they seem to be able to beat good teams.

Their record against Philadelphia is 2-2 and they are 2-0 against Miami. The Sixers have been everybody's favorite in the East all season and Miami was thought to have gotten a nudge with the return of Alonzo Mourning. But the Bucks have more than held their own against those teams and are streaking now. The are definitely emerging as a contending team in the East and could certainly win the conference.