"Rewarding his team for a good week of work while keeping an eye on what lies ahead, Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles gave his players a day off on Sunday.

Normally, taking a day off is not a big deal for a National Basketball Association team, but considering the schedule that lies ahead, it was significant for the Bucks. Sunday was the only opportunity that Skiles could see for his players to catch their breaths and put their feet up.

The Bucks will open their exhibition season tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Bradley Center in what will be the first of four games in six nights. After that, it's off to China.

"We've had to be thinking about how we're going to get them off their legs . . . with the China trip and four games this coming week," Skiles said. "We still have to keep our preparation going but we're going to have to juggle a little bit. We've got a lot of guys that have been playing really hard and looking ahead. It's hard to find days where you can have a day to get off our legs. So we have to take advantage of it.

"We play (tonight) and then we play Detroit, we play back-to-back (Friday and Saturday), and then we go to China. So there isn't a lot of time here. You could say, well, the flight to China is a day off. You get off your legs. But it isn't. The flight home isn't, either."

The Bucks will play Tuesday at Detroit, will take on the Dallas Mavericks on Friday in La Crosse and will finish off the week with the MACC Fund game Saturday night against Detroit at the Bradley Center. On Sunday, they will take off for a week in China, where they will play two games against the Golden State Warriors.

Because of that schedule, time management becomes crucial.

"Say guys get home at 11 from the Bradley Center Saturday night, we'll be leaving our houses at 7 or 8 in the morning to go to China," Skiles said. "So we've got to do both (rest and practice) right now and I'm really pleased with the way things are going. But I've got to factor in some rest.""