JS Online <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Milwaukee Bucks are eagerly anticipating the exhibition-season debut of power forward Joe Smith this week. Smith, plagued by left knee pain, has missed all six exhibition games so far, making him the only one of the players on the roster who hasn't played. But he is expected to be in the lineup when the Bucks conclude their exhibition schedule with games Tuesday in Dallas and Wednesday in Denver. "We haven't had all our guys for a single game yet," coach Terry Stotts said. "I'm looking forward to having Joe out there. He's been a valuable part of the team the last two years, particularly on the defensive end of the floor where his rebounding was very consistent. "Joe's been an integral part of what's gone on here and he's going to be an integral part of what we do this year. Not having him is a concern but hopefully he gets back into it (this) week." With Smith unavailable, Stotts has had the opportunity to look at other players and has started Toni Kukoc, Dan Gadzuric and Bobby Simmons at power forward. But Stotts has been unable to get a look at what his rotation might be like during the regular season. He hopes to get a chance to do that this week. "That's been the toughest thing about the exhibition season," said Stotts, referring to unavailability of Smith. "It's been good in a way that with some of these injuries I've been able to look at different players and look at different rotations. Obviously we're counting on Joe, and not having him and (finding out) what guys he plays well with. . . . So this week will be very important with regard to Joe." With Smith sidelined, rebounding has been a problem area for the Bucks. In their six games they have been out-rebounded by an average of 46.2 to 40.5. With Smith and Dan Gadzuric sitting out Saturday against Minnesota, the 6-foot-6 Simmons started at power forward the Bucks were out-rebounded, 48-39. Forward Desmond Mason hopes things will start shaping up when the Bucks get all hands on deck. "It's tough because the main thing that killed us was offensive boards," Mason said Saturday. "A lot of those possessions, if we get those boards, we can get out and run and that may have changed the game. We struggled in that area. If we get those guys on the floor, we're not going to have that problem. When they are out, we need to make sure we rebound five guys and I'm not sure we did that."</div> Source
