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Coming off a tumultuous off-season, the Milwaukee Bucks are heading into the 2009-10 season without some of their former key players. Thus, they are about to face a tough challenge when they will take on Elton Brand and the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday at 11 p.m. GMT.

Given the fact that the economic crisis hit small-market teams particularly hard, it was no surprise that the Milwaukee Bucks were forced to cut their payroll over the summer. More specifically, the Bucks’ front office traded swingman Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs and got little in return except expiring contracts. Moreover, GM John Hammond decided not to re-sign free agent Charlie Villanueva who subsequently signed a 5-year deal with the Detroit Pistons. To make things even worse, the Bucks were not able to match the Minnesota Timberwolves’ offer for restricted free agent Ramon Sessions. Even though the Bucks traded Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems for Carlos Delfino and Rokko Ukic, the acquisition of Delfino can hardly compensate for the loss of the aforementioned key players. The only bright spot during the off-season was ninth overall pick Brandon Jennings who could be the Bucks starting point guard on opening night. In the preseason, Jennings put up 10.9 points, 6.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals in only 25 minutes per contest.

Albeit the Bucks still have Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut on board, it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to give the 76ers a run for their money. In many ways, Milwaukee will get the shorter end of the stick in terms of 1-on-1 match-ups. Most importantly, it appears to be questionable whether Carlos Delfino and Michael Redd will be able to contain Andre Iguodala. Likewise, Andrew Bogut will have a tough time keeping Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert off the boards.

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