Three good draft picks and a few years of patience.

That's what it took for Milwaukee to progress from a doormat to an NBA Finals contender. It's a formula coach Tim Floyd would like to see duplicated with the Bulls.

The Bucks chose Vin Baker with the No. 8 pick in 1993, Glenn Robinson No. 1 in '94 and Ray Allen No. 5 in '96. Baker was traded for Terrell Brandon, who was in turn swapped for point guard Sam Cassell.

After missing the playoffs every year from 1992-98, Milwaukee advanced all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals last season and currently holds the best record in the East at 6-1. The Bucks will host the Bulls tonight at the Bradley Center.

"Building a tradition of excellence is kind of where we're at," said Bucks coach George Karl at the start of the season. "I'm really proud of an organization that can basically do it in two seasons, going from a team that was middle of the road.

"Now we're talking about going to the Finals. That's pretty fast movement. Unless you trade for (Tim) Duncan or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, you don't move up the ladder as fast as we've moved up. Now we have a two-, three- or four-year window of trying to be the best."