<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">ST. FRANCIS -- Bobby Simmons played an instrumental role in the Bucks? fast start last season when they won five of their first seven games. Simmons was also equally responsible for the team?s late-season demise, when they lost five of six games in early April and then finished the season by losing four of five games to Detroit in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. For the Bucks to improve on their 40-42 record from last season, it?ll be imperative for Simmons to be more consistent ? and just as important ? stay healthy. Simmons was noticeably bothered by ankle and foot injuries in the second half of the season and vaguely resembled the player who excelled at both ends of the court at the outset of the season. In three of the Bucks? first seven games, Simmons tallied 20 or more points. In that same span, he also grabbed eight or more rebounds. Unfortunately for Simmons and the Bucks, he severely sprained his left ankle in a game against Dallas on Nov. 29 and was never the same the rest of the way. Just how much did the injury affect Simmons? ?On some nights, it felt OK, and some nights, it didn?t,?? Simmons said of his ankle. ?But I was very limited in what I could do, especially on defense. I couldn?t slide my feet.?? Simmons, who had signed a lucrative $47 million contract in the summer of 2005, sprained his right ankle later in the season and virtually became a non-factor down the stretch. Simmons scored a paltry 36 points in a six-game stretch in early April, with the Bucks losing five of those games. Then, in the playoffs against Detroit, he totaled just 33 points in the five-game series. He didn?t go to the free throw line once. ?I?ve never shot so many jump shots ? I couldn?t do much else,?? Simmons said. ?It would have been easy not to dress for those games, but I wanted to win. And it was my first time in the playoffs. If I had to hop up and down the floor, I would have. I wanted to play that badly.?? While his maiden season with the Bucks didn?t go end the way Simmons wanted, he expects things will be much better this season. He rested his ankles immediately after the season and, once they felt good again, he was back on the court. He played several days a week in his hometown of Chicago, competing against fellow NBAers like Antoine Walker, Michael Finley, Quentin Richardson and Corey Maggette. Simmons said he hasn?t experienced any pain then and doesn't now. ?They?re good again; they?re a lot stronger,?? Simmons said. ?There?s a big difference from last season. A big difference.??</div> Source
