<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">St. Francis - Underdog? Don't even bother mentioning the term to the Milwaukee Bucks these days. "Underdog isn't even the word to describe us," forward Andrew Bogut said after practice at the team's training facility Thursday. "I don't know what we are. I mean, we're under-under-under-underdogs. "Nobody thinks we can win one game, that they're going to sweep all the way through. We have to deal with it and come out and play our game." The reference, of course, was to the Bucks' first-round National Basketball Association playoff series against the heavily favored Detroit Pistons that will open Sunday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons, who have played in the last two NBA Finals, are perceived to have advantages pretty much across the board against the playoff-novice Bucks. The Bucks ended up drawing the mighty Pistons after losing to Washington in a game for fifth place on Tuesday, and then watching all three teams above them in the standings win on the final night of the regular season Wednesday. Detroit knocked the Bucks out of the first round of the playoffs in five games two years ago and went on to win the NBA championship. The Pistons won three of four games against the Bucks this season, with Milwaukee's only victory coming in the final week of the season when the Pistons were resting their regulars. The Bucks have accepted the formidable challenge that confronts them and went to work in practice Thursday. "We've got to move on now and deal with where we're at," guard Michael Redd said. "We're in the playoffs and that's a good thing. It just so happens that we have to play Detroit. So get ready. "We had a good practice. We got really focused. We had a day off yesterday to clear our mind. We came in today focused and so hopefully we can carry it on through the rest of the week." Veteran forward Toni Kukoc went so far as to say that because several of the Bucks' main players have never even played in a playoff game, it might be a good thing in an "ignorance is bliss" kind of way. "In some cases, that might be OK because they might not feel any pressure," Kukoc said. "Especially when you have an opponent like Detroit. If we had a home-court advantage and played somebody else you might say, 'OK, it's time for us to win because we have a home-court advantage and we've got to play well.' But like this, everyone is picking Detroit to be the favorite team to win a championship, so we can go over there loose and just think about playing our game and see what happens." Even though the Pistons won both times the teams played in the regular season in Auburn Hills, Mich., the Bucks didn't go down easily. On Jan. 25 at the Palace, the Bucks took Detroit into overtime before losing, 106-102. The Bucks overcame deficits of 10 points in the final 3 minutes 33 seconds of regulation and seven points in the final 1:28 to send the game into overtime tied at 92-92. Mo Williams ignited the late rally with a pair of three-pointers, and Redd scored the final seven points of regulation. Redd scored 41 points in what he later termed the best game of his career. On March 31, the Pistons beat the Bucks at the Palace, 112-105. The Bucks scored the first 15 points of that game, led by 14 at halftime and by 18 early in the third quarter only to see the Pistons rally. The Bucks are drawing some encouragement from those efforts. "You want a confidence to play any opponent," coach Terry Stotts said. "Even the first game here (against Detroit), with 3 or 4 minutes to go, it could have gone either way. I think we have a confidence of how we've played against them but we know it's not going to be easy. It's every possession, all the little things that make the difference in the playoffs. It's going to be a good opportunity." </div> Source
Its a shame they didn't keep that 7 spot, because I legitimately saw them upsetting New Jersey in a 7 game series.
Well, we would've wanted the 6 seed to have a shot at New Jersey, but I know what you mean. We hung tough agaisnt the Pistons this year; one game went to overtime and another was close until the final moments in Auburn Hills. However, the Bucks are absolutely stumbling into the playoffs, and the Pistons know how to dial up the intensity for the playoffs. This is going to be short and as painless as Detroit can make it. I see a sweep and I don't even think it will be close. On to the off season and the end of the horrid Stotts dynasty.
Oh yea, my bad. Yea, Stotts is definitely holding this team back. I mean a team with that much depth in the frontcourt should not be lower than a 5 seed in the East. He actually overshadowed Sam Mitchell's bad coaching, which is quite an accomplishment.
Actually, the Bucks aren't doing so badly. It's already halftime, and they are only down by 6. The Pistons are shooting 39%, with no one able to get it going with Rasheed Wallace. So as of now, San Antonio looks like the team to beat.
