In Karl's mind, the Bucks have made strides, especially during last season's playoff run.

"The one thing I'd really like to say about my basketball tam is that last year we kind of portrayed our team as an offensive team that didn't play defense,'' Karl said. "I think deep down inside, at the end of last season, we became a pretty good defensive team and we never said that.

"Still our great improvement can be at the defensive end of the floor, and we are doing that and doing that well.''

If the Bucks' defense does improve, even marginally, they'll be extremely difficult to beat this season. After all, their explosive offense is about as good as it gets in the NBA.