There is, however, one other factor to consider.

"We have a sub-.500 record," forward Richard Jefferson said of the 16-19 Bucks. "Other teams might be looking at us on the schedule and thinking the same thing."

Good point.

The five-game stretch opens tonight at the Bradley Center, where the Bucks will take on Toronto. The Raptors have been one of the more disappointing teams in the East and have already fired coach Sam Mitchell and replaced him with interim coach Jay Triano. Philadelphia, another underachieving team, comes to town on Wednesday followed by the New Jersey Nets on Friday. The Nets, too, are below .500, although their 16-18 record is slightly superior to that of the Bucks.

After that, the Bucks hit the road for games at Minnesota and Washington. The Timberwolves and Wizards own two of the four worst records in the league.

No time like the present for Milwaukee?

It might seem that way, although guard Michael Redd warns that nothing can be assumed where the Bucks are concerned, especially after they beat Charlotte by 28 points Friday night at the Bradley Center only to lose to the Bobcats by 10 one night later in Charlotte after trailing by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter.

"We've lost to Toronto before and we've lost to Philly before," Redd said. "So we can't take anyone for granted and have to play with a sense of urgency like we did (Friday). That's all we can ask for."

The Bucks lost to Toronto in their home opener Nov. 1, their third straight loss to the Raptors. The Bucks lost to the 76ers earlier this season in Philadelphia.

The loss Saturday in Charlotte was disturbing because the Bucks reverted to a "don't share" approach on offense and a "don't-help" approach on defense. Those are two surefire ways for the Bucks to get into trouble.

Jefferson pointed out that the Bucks had defeated the Bobcats in their first three meetings this season by playing a "certain way."

"Just playing the right way," he said. "Sharing the ball. Helping each other on defense. It had nothing to do with Andrew (Bogut) being out. That's a zero excuse. This was all about the way we needed to play. We can't be that sensitive team, that immature team that . . . oh, Charlie Bell is out for two games and we don't play well. Or, Michael Redd is going to miss two games and we're not going to play well. We have to be able to go out there and play, regardless of the circumstances."

Skiles saw little to his liking in the loss Saturday.

"We hung around with them for 14 or 15 minutes at the beginning of the game," he said. "But their pressure was bothering us and we just started dribbling around, a little more one-on-one, instead of going strong to weak and relying on each other. When we do that (one on one), we're not nearly as good offensively. And then we had a lot of trouble getting out of it. In the third quarter, we tried to move the ball a little bit and then our defense fell apart. They hurt us inside so it was not a good game for us."

So what is the secret to success for the Bucks in the upcoming games?

"If we play the way we're supposed to play consistently," Jefferson said. "Nothing is going to be given to us. We have to earn it."

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