Milwaukee Bucks '97-98

All these guys, however, have had a me-first attitutde, believing that they were stars when they weren't. If there is a better example of "bad chemistry" in the league, I cannot think of it.

"Chemistry", however, is a difficult thing to quantify or even describe. Does it mean that each of these guys would be better off playing on different teams? If so, we will have an opportunity to see it this year with Douglas in Denver, Baker in Seattle, Gilliam likely to be traded, and Johnny Newman (another well-traveled scorer) also in Denver. That leaves Robinson and Allen together with new acquisitions Terrell Brandon and Tyrone Hill. Brandon and Hill have reputations for knowing their roles well, so presumably this "chemistry" will be good in Milwaukee.

So what should we expect if chemistry is at work? We should generally see improvement in all players -- those still in Milwaukee and those who have moved or will move on. There are definitely confounding factors, however. It is very easy to predict that Ray Allen will do better this year, just because it is his second year. Even though most recent young players have not been improving much, history shows that the second year is when major improvement is made. Douglas will probably actually look worse this coming season because he was so dramatically aided by the closer three-point line that he will probably be hurt by the farther distance this season. Gilliam's numbers have fluctuated enormously through his career and may not be representative of anything this year no matter if he stays or if he goes. Ditto for Johnny Newman.

On the other hand, Robinson may be pure. Robinson, like Allen, is relatively young, but he has not improved much (if at all) during his first three seasons, so any improvement this coming year may be due to better "chemistry". Baker also may be representative, coming off consecutive seasons of very similar stats. He is surrounded by completely different personnel in Seattle and it will be curious to see whether his numbers change at all.

I have plenty of reasons to disbelieve in "chemistry" or at least in our ability to measure it, some of which are laid out here. I have plenty of doubt that Robinson and Baker will improve significantly this year. But I have little doubt that the Milwaukee team will improve. The additions of Brandon and Hill are additions, not just replacements. On their abilities alone, the Bucks improve to a 0.500 club or slightly better. If the defense of the Bucks continues to improve, as it did last year, the Bucks could be the most improved team in the league, except for San Antonio which doesn't count.