Chase to 50: Kukoc and Welsch

I had noticed a trend as of late with the injury-plagued Bucks. During the past couple games prior to the return of T.J Ford (I haven't caught a game since then) Jiri Welsch and Toni Kukoc were seeing increased floor-time together. I had noticed that the minute those two stepped on the floor together things started to go bad. Looking again at 82 Games my feelings have been confirmed. A quick look at the line-ups that feature both Kukoc and Welsch the Bucks come out losing (score less than the opposing line-up during their time on the floor).

I think the reason the two play so poorly together is because of their offensive positioning. They're both players that play by staying a decent distance away from the basket and neither of them are big cutters. This results in two players that aren't creating many basket-producing cuts to the hoop. Also, it's hard for them to connect on assists if they're both just floating on the outside. They fit fine in the line-ups individually, because they can be used to kick the ball back to. When they're together that drive-and-dish system seems to just break down. The return of T.J. Ford may eleviate this problem, because the pairing won't occur as often and because of Ford's drive-and-dish style.

Just an observation I thought I would share. What do you think?

Tags: Milwaukee Bucks, Toni Kukoc, Jiri Welsch