NO.6 MILWAUKEE BUCKS

Someday soon Terrell Brandon will see a vulnerable spot on
Milwaukee's perimeter. He'll see the outstretched hands before
anyone else does, and without a word or second thought he'll
chip in with an assist. But not yet. Before the charity-minded
point guard can look for crumbling holes in the Milwaukee
community, he needs to help patch up the Bucks' offense.

Brandon, a two-time All-Star with the Cavaliers before coming to
Milwaukee along with power forward Tyrone Hill in the three-team
megatrade that sent power forward Vin Baker to Seattle and point
guard Sherman Douglas to Cleveland, joins a team in desperate
need of repairs at both ends of the floor. Tiresomely low-post
bound on offense and hapless on defense, the Bucks ranked 27th
in the league in assists and opponents' field goal percentage
last year while winning 33 games and missing the playoffs for
the sixth season in a row.

"Last year we were going nowhere fast," says second-year
shooting guard Ray Allen. "Everyone was just waiting for the
season to end. Something had to change."

In Brandon the Bucks got not only their first bona fide point
guard in years but also the man who is arguably the best in the
league at that position. While directing Mike Fratello's
plodding offense last year, Brandon contributed 19.5 points and
6.3 assists per game and made 90.2% of his free throws. A
generous spirit who sponsors free basketball camps in the
summer, doles out toys to underprivileged kids for Christmas and
believes that "one should give without trying to get something
in return," Brandon is looking forward to sharing the ball more
in the Bucks' new perimeter-based, ball-movement offense.
"Hopefully my assists will improve," says last year's winner of
the NBA Sportsmanship Award. "If we win more games and my points
go down, I think I'll have accomplished as much as scoring 19 or
20 points a game." Says second-year coach Chris Ford, "Terrell
is going to make a lot of guys very happy."

One player who should be particularly pleased with Brandon's
presence is Allen, who struggled last year. An athletic,
long-range shooter, Allen scored just 13.4 points a game in the
Bucks' dump-it-in-the-post offense. "Last year I was stuck in a
rut," says Allen, who shares with Brandon the nickname Candyman.
"It was frustrating because I know I can score. I'm looking
forward to playing with Terrell because he knows how to get the
ball to you."

Another Buck who can score but hasn't done enough of anything
else to suit his critics is Glenn Robinson, the NBA's No. 1
draft pick in 1994. In three years Big Dog has done little to
justify the $69 million contract he signed out of college: He
may have averaged 21.1 points, but he has been a pushover on
defense. Robinson is hoping the departure of Baker, around whom
the Bucks' offense revolved, will make him a more productive
player all around. "I'll miss Vin, but I think it's a good
opportunity for me," says Robinson. "Now is the chance for me to
get the ball more and become a better player."

The Bucks' defense should be as thoroughly transformed as their
offense, if only because the team has acquired people willing
and able to play it. Hill, a gritty rebounder with a particular
taste for the defensive glass, will be joined on the front line
by former Nugget Ervin Johnson, a 6'11" shot swatter who will be
the Bucks' first true center since Jack Sikma departed in 1991.
Former Piston Michael Curry, a tenacious defender, is now Big
Dog's backup.

Ford likes the look of his refurbished Bucks, and he thinks
their prospects of making the playoffs are good. "As a coach,
this is the kind of team I've always hoped to put together,"
says Ford. "I'm optimistic about our chances

--K.A.

COLOR PHOTO: JOHN BIEVER WITH BRANDON DISHING, ALLEN (BELOW) AND THE BUCKS SHOULD CASH IN MORE OFTEN [Ray Allen in game]

COLOR PHOTO: ROCKY WIDNER [Armon Gilliam]

BY THE NUMBERS

1996-97 TEAM STATISTICS
1996-97 Record: 33-49 (seventh in Central)

SEASON AVERAGES
Points Rebounds Turnovers
per game FG pct. per game per game
(rank) (rank) (rank) (rank)
Bucks 95.3 (21) .471 (5) 39.2 (25) 15.7 (13)
Opponents 97.2 (16) .472 (27) 39.4 (6) 14.6 (24)

RUNNING THE SHOW

Last season, playing for the low-scoring Cavaliers, new Bucks
point guard Terrell Brandon ranked only 17th in the NBA in
assists (with 490) and 20th in field goals (575). However, he
had a hand in 39.4% of the field goals the Cavaliers made, the
seventh highest percentage in the NBA.

PLAYERS INVOLVED THE MOST IN THEIR TEAM'S FIELD GOALS

PLAYER, TEAM ASSISTS FG TEAM FG PCT.

Tim Hardaway, Heat 695 575 2,822 45.0
Damon Stoudamire, Raptors 709 564 2,897 43.9
Gary Payton, Sonics 583 706 2,995 43.0
Grant Hill, Pistons 583 625 2,827 42.7
John Stockton, Jazz 860 416 3,131 40.8
Allen Iverson, 76ers 567 625 3,003 39.7
Terrell Brandon, Cavaliers 490 575 2,704 39.4

NOTE FROM THE UNDERGROUND

Before the Bucks completed their trade with the Cavaliers and
the Sonics that brought point guard Terrell Brandon to
Milwaukee, they had been considering getting a point
guard--possibly the Warriors' B.J. Armstrong--by trading forward
Armon Gilliam (right), who had clashed with coach Chris Ford and
was seen as a negative presence. But Gilliam arrived in camp
with a new attitude. He's happy, and so are the Bucks. All talk
of trading him has ceased.

PROJECTED LINEUP with 1996-97 stats
Coach: Chris Ford (second season with Milwaukee)

STARTERS

G PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% FT% 3FG%

PG Terrell Brandon[*] 78 19.5 3.9 6.3 1.77 0.38 .438 .902 .373
SG Ray Allen 82 13.4 4.0 2.6 0.91 0.12 .430 .823 .393
SF Glenn Robinson 80 21.1 6.3 3.1 1.29 0.85 .465 .791 .350
PF Tyrone Hill[*] 74 12.9 9.9 1.2 0.85 0.41 .600 .633 .000
C Ervin Johnson 82 7.1 11.1 0.9 0.79 2.77 .520 .615 .000

RESERVES

G Elliot Perry 82 6.9 1.5 3.0 1.20 0.04 .474 .745 .358
F Armon Gilliam 80 8.6 6.2 0.7 0.76 0.50 .471 .768 0 att.
G-F Michael Curry[*] 81 3.9 1.5 0.5 0.38 0.15 .448 .898 .299
C Andrew Lang 52 5.3 5.3 0.5 0.50 0.90 .464 .721 0 att.
F Jamie Feick[*] 41 3.7 5.2 0.6 0.34 0.04 .357 .507 .357

[*] New Acquisition