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Bucking convention: boosted by T.J. Ford's return from a career-threatening injury, Milwaukee is winning with a rare combination of size, shooting and—most important—speed

Sporting News, The, Dec 2, 2005 by Sean Deveney

First, there was cheering, the frenzy of a home crowd watching its team cut a 21-point deficit to near single digits in the fourth quarter. Then there was a side pick-and-roll, with Bucks forward Joe Smith screening Timberwolves defenders Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell and freeing room for rookie point guard T.J. Ford to burst to the basket. Then there was Timberwolves center Mark Madsen, 70 pounds heavier than Ford, sliding over on defense. Then Ford jumping into Madsen. Ford losing his feet. Ford crashing to the court like an anvil, motionless.

Then there was quiet. For Ford, there was a familiar numbness in his back and neck. Fifteen feet away, seated on press row, a visiting scout, well-aware of Ford's history of back problems, noted, "The Bucks' worst nightmare."

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That was February 24, 2004. Skip ahead to last week, 21 months later. The Bucks are leading Golden State by 12 with 4:14 to go in the third quarter. Ford gets the ball on a rebound, zips past Baron Davis into the lane and flings a bounce pass to Michael Redd beyond the 3-point line. As Redd knocks in the shot, Ford tumbles headlong, hitting the floor and the basket stanchion.

There's that nightmare again. For anyone who saw Ford's terrible fall, who watched Ford carried out on a stretcher, he is forever fragile. But this time, Ford quickly pops up, pumps his fist, and just like that, the nightmare passes.

"I know I could get hurt," Ford says. "But I can't play like I'm afraid of that. I have no more chance of getting hurt than anyone else."

The nearly two years between the '04 fall and Ford's return to the court have been difficult, for both Ford and the Bucks. Ford has a congenital condition--he learned about it in 2001--called spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine that pressures the spinal cord. He had surgery in May 2004, followed by monthly MRIs. Ford admits he worried he never would play again but tried to stay with the team anyway. The stress of not being able to play was too much, though, and the Bucks sent him home to Houston last January.

Meanwhile, the team struggled through what should have been Ford's second season. Milwaukee, which was 29-26 with Ford in 2003-04, was 30-52 without him last season.

"He's the key to the whole thing for us," Smith says. "He puts pressure on the other team. When he is on the floor, you have to have your wheels on."

Thanks to Ford, the Bucks' wheels are firmly on. Milwaukee entered the week with a 5-3 record. The team overhauled its roster, with a new coach (Terry Stotts) and four new starters, including Ford. Milwaukee drafted big man Andrew Bogut first overall, gave a maximum-dollar contract to Redd, then added free-agent forward Bobby Simmons and traded for center Jamaal Magloire. It's a young group--the starting five has an average age of 24.

Those young legs are on the move. The Bucks installed an uptempo approach that has allowed the team to average 101.9 points. Milwaukee has been wreaking havoc by pairing Ford with last season's point guard, Mo Williams, in a lethally quick backcourt. The presence of Magloire and Bogut, with Smith and Dan Gadzuric coming off the bench, allows the Bucks to play fast without yielding size and rebounding. Perhaps the biggest beneficiary has been Redd. Surrounded by such a potent group, he is getting better shots, hitting 47.1 percent from the field and averaging 25.4 points.

"They're a tough team to contend with," says one scout. "They shoot so well, but most teams that do that give up size. They don't. They don't give up speed, either, because T.J. Ford has enough speed for everyone. He's the quickest guy in the league."

And he knows how to win. Ford led Willowridge High to consecutive Texas state championships as a junior and senior, with a 75-1 record. He was 48-19 in two years at Texas--including his one-plus year with the Bucks, Ford has a .762 winning percentage over five-plus years.

Sure, just being on the court after such a nightmarish fall is a victory for Ford, who is second in the league with 9.3 assists per game. But he has more victories in mind. "The injury is behind me," Ford says. "We've got a good team here, and we should be able to win a lot more games than people think."

Bucking convention: boosted by T.J. Ford's return from a career-threatening injury, Milwaukee is winning with a rare combination of size, shooting and—most important—speed

Sporting News, The, Dec 2, 2005 by Sean Deveney

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