Ahhh, Bucks season.

It's that lovely time of year when the basketballs and insults are rolled out, the accusations and 3-pointers start to fly, and fans, players and coaches alike vainly try to gain an understanding of what, exactly, makes this team tick.

It's only the preseason, but all the familiar elements are in place: the coach is trying to assure everyone his team and message are still relevant; the players are loquacious with the press, individually if not collectively; and the nettlesome matter of actual basketball played on the floor -- with strategies and positions and players -- takes a backseat to rumors, analyses and clique-ridden subterfuge.

And all the while, so many questions:

-- Was last year all Anthony Mason's fault? Answers: Yes; no; I think so, but I can't comment or coach will bench me.

-- Will the Glenn Robinson trade be addition by subtraction? Answers: Yes; no; I'm waiting to see what Sam Cassell's answer is.

-- Is George Karl destined to coach underachieving teams? Answers: Yes; no; go blank yourself.

-- Will Tim Thomas finally develop into a superstar? Answers: Yes; no; can I change my answer next week?

-- Is Ray Allen ready to become a true leader? Answers: Yes; no; let me get back to you after this commercial spot.

-- How you feeling, Sam? Answers: Good; bad; ask me in March.

-- Don't you just love preseason? Answers: Yes; no; only in Milwaukee; except in Milwaukee.

The biggest change in Bucks camp from last year is not the lack of Big Dog, but a completely modified perception. No longer are the Bucks the Eastern Conference's upcoming titan, just a missed jumper away from the Finals. Instead, they're a team rife with internal dissension, one just as likely to be staring at a second straight lottery berth as a Central Division title come April.

Karl, however, doesn't seem overly worried. And considering he oversaw not only the team's 5-14 swan song last spring, but also Team USA's downright unpatriotic sixth-place finish in the World Championships this summer, he'd need a spade and shovel to dig a deeper hole for himself. Up, then, is the only logical direction.

"All of them were injured or pissed off at the world," Karl told espn.com of Allen, Cassell, Robinson and Mason at this time last season. "That's not the case now."

Maybe not the first part. But aren't Cassell and Mason always kind of angry? Then again, that's a positive if the rage emanates away from the locker room rather than pulsating within it.

Of course, Cassell may have some leftover issues surrounding the exodus of Robinson, his self-described best friend on the team. But if Dog's departure and Toni Kukoc's arrival mean more shots for Sam and Allen, remorse could quickly give way to relief.

Thomas, too, will pick up some of those shots, provided he's healthy enough to lug them. His lingering knee injury was just one of several down the stretch that afflicted the entire core of the team (Cassell, Allen, Robinson, Michael Redd), allowing Karl's charges too easy of an excuse to wave the white flag as the playoffs slipped away.

In order for the Bucks to finish in the top eight in the East, they'll need to forgo the Packers' injured list impersonation. With Robinson gone, points may be at a premium rather than plentiful.

Karl is glad to have the burgeoning Redd (11.4 points in 21.1 minutes last year) in tow after a decision Monday to bring back the third-year guard after Dallas signed him to an expensive offer sheet. Though some thought the luxury-tax implications of re-signing Redd were going to be too much for Sen. Herb Kohl, in the end the Bucks ended up matching the four-year, $12 million deal.

It took Kohl nearly the entire 15-day period allotted to do so, but considering he's also been working on whether or not to authorize the President to use force against Iraq, he may simply not have gotten around to dropping the matched offer sheet in the mail.

Even with Redd in camp, locker-room harmony, offensive rebounding and better team defense -- last year's bugaboos -- are eminently important this season. Most NBA teams have two high-level scorers; Cassell and Allen, in this case. But the Bucks may no longer be the lethal bunch that advanced to Game 7 of the Eastern Finals just 16 months ago, a team for which for no deficit was daunting, no shot unmakeable, no lead (for either side) irreversible.

Unless Thomas and Redd rise to the occasion, Robinson's departure downgrades the offense from prolific to merely good. That means they'll have to become a team, instead, a challenge Karl relishes if no one else does.

Players like Kevin Ollie, Kukoc and rookie Dan Gadzuric should help in that regard. Not accustomed to or bent on scoring, they should willfully give up the ball and help out defensively (Kukoc the exception there), helping shed some of the mental baggage Allen, Cassell, Mason and Thomas have been dragging around since March.

Can they? Will they? We've got questions; theoretically, they've got answers.