Milwaukee Bucks Tickets

The Milwaukee Bucks have hung tough in the Eastern Conference playoff race so far this year, but things are suddenly looking very grim for the team.

After shooting guard Michael Redd struggled out of the gate, he really found his rhthym and turned things on of late.

That is, until he tore knee ligaments in a recent game and was declared out for the rest of the season.

The Bucks are now going to have to find some way to make up for all of that scoring and the leadership they lost in Redd. He was the leading scorer at 21.2 points per game, which is a lot to make up.

As if losing Redd wasn't a big enough blow, the team is also without center Andrew Bogut for the next two months because of a back injury. Bogut was averaging a double-double per game before the injury.

If there was one player the team couldn't afford after Redd, it was Bogut. Now the team has essentially lost its inside-outside game with Redd stroking the three-point shot and Bogut pounding away in the paint.

Possibly the biggest disappointment for the team this year has been the play of rookie Joe Alexander, who isn't seeing a lot of minutes and averaging just 4.3 points per game. He seems overmatched so far at the NBA level.

Milwaukee is an interesting team considering the way their roster has been constructed. It appeared as though they were set to rebuild, but then they traded rookie Yi Jianlian for veteran Richard Jefferson.

They also let go of point guard Maurice Williams, who was one of the best players on the team. He is now playing at an All-Star level on the Cleveland Cavaliers and making LeBron James' life much easier.

The Bucks have gone to a point guard by committee approach, and it hasn't worked out that well for them. Ramon Sessions is probably the best of the bunch, but there is a noticeable drop-off from Williams.

The Bucks are barely under .500, but they really don't have a realistic shot of making the playoffs without their top two players. Look for this team to quickly fade down the stretch and end up with one of the worst records in the conference.