Milwaukee’s youngsters spread their wings in blowout loss
In a game they punted, the Milwaukee Bucks lost bigly to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 96-125. As the Bucks injury reports were released throughout the day with key rotation players dropping like flies, you could tell what this was turning into. No Giannis, Dame, Khris, Brook, or Bobby meant a stress-free watch where we all knew the result would be ugly… and I can’t lie, it was kind of nice! Ryan Rollins had 16 points and two steals as the starting point guard, while rookies AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith both scored career highs of 13 and 12. For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominated with 34, while five other Thunder players reached double figures. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast Bucks In Six Minutes below.
What Did We Learn?
Well, it wasn’t as if any of the young guys had some awesome showing to the point where you’re thinking, “man, I feel great about the future.” But I thought there were some nice flashes that at least made you ponder what they could look like in a year or two. On the flipside, this game was a confirmation that some of the other younger dudes probably aren’t long for the team.
Three Bucks
Ryan Rollins led the pack.
Ryan was thrust into the role of starting point guard tonight. He is not a point guard, he’s a combo guard, as Doc has said a few times. But he had 16 points in 18 minutes, staking his claim that yes, the Bucks should absolutely be trying to open up a spot for him on the regular roster over the next week.
AJ Johnson got his feet wet.
It felt like AJ Johnson got more and more comfortable as the game went along. When he plays for the Herd, you’re mainly just looking for efficiency; that’s what is going to earn him trust at the NBA level. For example, Doc knows he can trust AJ Green to go out there and play a role; AJ must find that same niche. Tonight, he went 5/12 and 2/4 from three. It’s nothing overly impressive, but it’s progress. Johnson also controlled his speed better than he had in in the past, I thought. Great! Furthermore, he did flash some of that athleticism and even some off-the-dribble shooting touch.
Tyler Smith was not efficient, but you (kind of) see the vision.
Tyler ended the night shooting 4/15 and 3/10 from three. It doesn’t look great at the end of the night, but I thought he impacted in other areas, such as having seven rebounds and three assists. And look, if I got a dollar for every time I thought Tyler’s threes were going in last night, I’d have 10 dollars. I have no idea what that means, but I certainly don’t feel that way about any of the other young guys when they shoot. He needs reps, he needs to put on weight, but shooting is the most valuable commodity in basketball; thus, I remain intrigued by Smith.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Are people still buying Chris Livingston stock? Personally, I just don’t see his future in the NBA.
- Isaiah Joe went 5/8 from three. I can’t believe the Philadelphia 76ers waived this dude.
- Fellow Australian Alex Ducas got on the court for the Thunder.
Up Next
The Bucks will look to end this losing streak in Charlotte where they will face the Hornets on Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. Central. Catch the game on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin or stream it on our Playback and YouTube channels.
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