Harris: Bucks must "trust the pass"

Bucks GM Larry Harris defiantly faced the music last night during his weekly call-in show on Milwaukee's Sports Radio 1250 AM. In response to withering criticism, Harris said he remains confident that the line-up he assembled can produce wins for our Bucks, but he said the team must learn to pass the ball more often before their offense can function properly.

But the show's moderator, Steve "Sparky" Pfeiffer, identified the main reason such a philosophy might not be plausible for these Milwaukee Bucks. The two leaders on offense, Mo Williams and Michael Redd, almost never pass (Sparky said he did not see Redd pass the ball once all night). Since those two control the basketball on almost every possession, its difficult to see how an offense based upon ball movement will ever take hold.

Harris pooh-poohed this criticism saying that Redd's inclination sometimes is the same as any other stars, when he sees his team struggling, he feels the responsibility to take over the game. Harris went on to say that he and Coach K have talked to Redd and emphasized that he must resist such inclinations.

Some other points made by Harris:

...He said the defense in the first half was very good, but the defense in the second half was "unacceptable". He said that in the third quarter when the deficit grew the players started "feeling sorry for themselves" and stopped rushing out to challenge the Magic shooters. (my comment: so, when the going got tough, they reverted to their old destructive habits. This is not a good sign.)

...He said the team would like to run the offense through Andrew Bogut because if Bogut can get a couple of baskets inside that would suck the defense in and open up things for their outside shooters. (my comment: we've been hearing this same thing for the last two years. Talk is cheap.)

...He acknowledged that most of the team's scorers are "feet set" jump shooters, not slashers. (my comment: which is why its so critically important for our point guard to resist settling for jump shots and start penetrating the defense. That would draw the defense to him and allow for the kick out to the perimeter scorers. Until he threatens the integrity of the defense with dribble penetration, the defense can remain glued to the shooters out on the arc.)