Anthony Mason was mad. . . .

Mad enough that the normally talkative power forward decided to muzzle himself after the Milwaukee Bucks lost their fourth consecutive game Sunday night at Seattle.

"I don't have too many good things to say right now," said Mason, who scored 1 point in the Bucks' 97-83 loss to Seattle on Sunday night.

Asked whether he is fitting in with his new team, Mason provided a sharp one-word answer: "No."

Asked to elaborate, he said, "I'd rather not say."

After 14 games, the Mason experiment, on which the Bucks invested $21 million over four years in an attempt to add the missing low-post element to a team with championship aspirations, remains a work in progress.

So far, Mason has yet to register a double-double. He scored a season-high 12 points in the second game at Denver, and he pulled down a season-best 11 rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers to begin the just-completed 0-4 road trip. His best game was 11 points and nine rebounds against Chicago.

Averaging almost 38 minutes per game - most on the team, more minutes than any member of the Big Three is receiving - Mason contributes roughly seven points and eight rebounds per game, down from the 16 points and 10 rebounds he averaged last season during an all-star year in Miami.

"He's solid," Bucks coach George Karl said. "He's been really solid. Has he been great? Has he been really good? Not yet. But he's probably two or three weeks from being in shape and in condition."