On defense, you have to get up and get into people

Look at MIL's 29-33 record and remember that this year's team has already won three more games than it did all of last season when they lost their last eight to finish 26-56.

And keep in mind that they're missing Dream Teamer Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut (12 ppg/10 rpg), both of whom have gone down with injuries.

In Sunday's win over the Wizards, MIL's starting lineup featured former D-League PG Ramon Sessions, rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, center Francisco Elson, along with veterans Richard Jefferson, and Charlie Villanueva.

According to Villanueva, the key has been the team's new coach, Scott Skiles.

"It starts with Coach Skiles. He believes that whoever is out there on the floor can win the game, and that has become contagious. The easiest thing to do would have been to mail in the season. We've been dealt a bad hand as far as the injuries to Andrew and Mike, but the fact that we've kept this team together and believed in one another shows a maturity on our part."

Coach Skiles says that while the players have changed, the team has maintained its approach, one that emphasizes defense and ball movement.

"The actors have changed, but the script is the same. We're going to try to keep the ball in the hands of our best offensive players and live and die with the decisions they make. Good teams generally can weather injuries, at least for a while, because they have a good system."

"I think you have to get up and get into people," Skiles said of his defensive philosophy. "You can't allow people to penetrate in the paint and you have to guard -- the post-ups, the pick-and-rolls and the pin-downs. We do it a certain way. There are only a handful of schemes most teams are using anyway. It just depends on the personnel on a given night."

As this article in SI points out, MIL's defense is improving quickly. "After ranking 23rd in points allowed and 30th in field-goal defense last season, they have improved to 16th and 14th, respectively, this season."

[Sessions says Coach Skiles is "real big on being in the right place at the right time."]

One scout contends that Coach Skiles' reputation as "a hard guy to deal with" isn't entirely fair.

"If you listen to him during games, he's an encouraging guy," the scout said. "He knows you're going to miss shots, so he doesn't get wrapped up in that. As long as you're playing hard, he's out there with you, or you're not going to play, no matter who it is. And they play hard all the time."

Taking lemons and making lemonade

Great example of a player taking lemons and making lemonade.

In a game last April, Portland's Martell Webster scored 23 against the Lakers. Two days later, after starting 70 games for the Blazers, he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat and missed the rest of the season.

This preseason, Webster was challenging to get his starting spot back when, in an exhibition game in early October, he broke his foot.

After two months of rehab, Webster logged five minutes in a Dec. 7 game against TOR. During that short span, he aggravated the broken foot, forcing him to return to rehab.

It's hard to argue that Webster's been handed a bunch of lemons. But he's used the down time to improve -- mentally.

"It's allowed me to experience the game from a whole different aspect," he said. "I almost feel like an assistant coach. I see coach McMillan write up plays and then watch to see if they actually unfurl on the court. Sitting behind the bench you see things differently. It's kind of weird in a way, but watching from that point of view kind of slows the game down. I feel like I'm learning a lot more about the X's and O's of the game."

Injuries never lower expectations for a coach

Hoopsworld's Jason Fleming had a good piece recently about how injuries impact a team.

But as DEN coach George Karl points out, "injuries never lower expectations for a coach."

"For the last three years we've had Nenê and Kenyon (Martin) out, but the expectations remained the same. Coaches also don't get praised for handling injuries well. 'Oh, that's what they are supposed to do.' It's not always as easy as people seem to think it is. The special organizations work together on how to construct a roster to prepare for injuries. Do you put three prospects on the end of your bench or do you put two prospects and one insurance policy on the end of your bench? Sometimes you don't use them for 50 games. And then something happens and you use them for 25 straight games and they become a part of your playoff personality. Usually veteran players understand that better."

Playing through the good times and the bad

HOU coach Rick Adelman had a candid conversation recently with guard Tracy McGrady, who's been slowed by soreness in his left knee and described himself as "physically down."

According to Coach Adelman, despite the pain, it's important for McGrady to remain aggressive.

"That’s what he has to do," Adelman said. "The other night, we were playing poorly as a team, and he became very unaggressive. He can’t play that way, (or) he’s not going to get through it or out of it, and we aren’t going to be any good. We have to find more ways to make sure we have room to operate, but it’s got to be an aggressive approach every time he plays.

I spoke to him about it because he’s not going to get anywhere unless he keeps pushing himself. It’s in practice, too. It’s a mindset. Sometimes when things don’t go well, that’s when you have to work even harder.

Like I told him today, ‘There’s going to be times you’re going to succeed and times you’re going to fail, but that shouldn’t have an effect on how hard you play. You have to play through the good times and the bad times.'"