Ray Allen put the Bucks on his shoulders and just would not let them lose Sunday afternoon.
Those words actually are taken from Charlotte coach Paul Silas, after Allen led the Bucks to a crucial win over the Hornets that kept Milwaukee in the eighth and last playoff slot in the NBA Eastern Conference.
Now, Ray needs to do the same Tuesday night at the Bradley Center against the Toronto Raptors, and again Wednesday in the season finale at Detroit.
"That's what great players do," Silas continued in his praise of Allen. "I know he has been hurting with his knee, but at least his mental attitude has to be feeling a lot better after this game."
Allen scored a career-high 47 points; the second most scored by a Buck since Kareem Abdul Jabbar scored 50 on Jan. 19, 1975. He set a franchise record with 10 3-pointers. He tied a NBA record with eight 3-pointers in the second half. In short, he carried the Bucks to the win.
"I knew Sam (Cassell) was hurting. I said ‘just get me the ball'," Allen said. "The key for me was I got a lot of easy baskets in the beginning driving to the basket.
"My knee is throbbing. My fear is not making the playoffs, not hurting my knee. When the adrenaline starts flowing, I don't feel a thing. The minute the game stops I realize how much it hurts."
Coach George Karl said, "You have to tip your hat to Ray Allen. His stroke was on. Stacey Augmon was all over him, and he was still hitting.
"We have to find a horse and ride him. Tonight, Ray was there for us. It's pretty special what Ray did tonight."
The Bucks have been waiting for several weeks for somebody to step up and take things over. Injuries have held back Cassell, Tim Thomas and Glenn Robinson. Michael Redd is on the injured list.
Allen has been hurting as much as anybody, but he is the most likely player to carry the team. He is the only one who has the raw athletic and shooting ability to play through his injuries.
It won't be easy. The Indiana Pacers have the same record as the Bucks, but Milwaukee has the tiebreaker. Indiana also won Sunday. You can expect the Pacers to keep the pressure on.
The Raptors, who won Sunday, are one game ahead of the Bucks in the playoff race. The Pistons, who lead the Central Division, will want to have momentum going into the playoffs, which start next weekend.
You can argue the Bucks, who led the Central by five games at the end of January, shouldn't be in this situation at all, and that they will not go far into the post-season. But, if they get in, you never know what might happen. Their best bet to make it is for Ray Allen to keep carrying them.
Record Season
The Wave ended its regular season with a win Saturday despite the fact they didn't even bring some of their top players with them to Kansas City, deciding instead to rest them for the upcoming playoffs.
That win gave the Wave a 34-10 regular season record, the best in franchise history. Coach Keith Tozer also earned his 500th and 501st career wins over the weekend. He is the winningest coach in North American indoor pro soccer.
Look for commentary on the Wave in the playoffs in this column.
Slip, Sliding Away
The Admirals announced Friday that the contracts of Head Coach Dave Allison and Assistant Coach Claude Noel have not been renewed for the 2002-2003 season. No timetable has been set for the recruitment of an Admirals' coaching staff for 2002-03.
"It's a difficult day because we will miss Dave's and Claude's passion for the game and their dedication to the Admirals' over the past two years," said Admirals' exec Phil Wittliff.
"The entire Admirals' organization and the community will miss Dave, Claude and their wonderful families. We are, however, in a results-driven business and our results this year were below the standards that Admirals' fans have come to expect."
The Admirals finished the season out of post season play for the first time since 1987-88 and finished with a losing record (30-35-10-5) for the first time since the 1990-91 season.
Allison joined the Admirals as head coach prior to the 2000-2001 season and compiled a two-year mark of 72-68-10-12 and playoff record of 1-4.
Noel, a former Admiral player, finished his fifth year as an assistant coach with the team. He served for three seasons under Al Sims prior to working with Allison the past two seasons.
Packers Draft
Look for the Packers to take a linebacker, defensive tackle or wide receiver in the first round of this coming weekend's draft. That, of course, is if there are any left worth taking at No. 28.
The draft is said to be somewhat deep in wide receivers, so maybe the Packers might have the best chance at getting somebody at that position. If teams ahead of them in the draft go for other positions, maybe Josh Reed of LSU, Reche Caldwell of Florida or Javon Walker of Florida State could be picked.
Donte Stallworth of Tennessee is expected to go high. Ashley Lelie of Hawaii is rated highly, but has hamstring problems. Jabar Gaffney of Florida and Antonio Bryant of Pittsburgh also are highly rated, but said to be head cases. The Packers already might have added one of those to their receiving corps with veteran Terry Glenn.
You'd love to see UW's Wendell Bryant end up a Packer, but the defensive lineman will likely be picked by No. 28. If the Packers go that route, they might look at Notre Dame's Anthony Weaver.
In later rounds, look for the Packers to pick a quarterback. It is time to start grooming Brett Favre's successor while he is still around to act as a mentor.
Gregg Hoffmann writes The Milwaukee Sports Buzz on Mondays and The Brew Crew Review on Thursdays for OMC.
