The Milwaukee Bucks are heading to Detroit to take on the Pistons in their fifth preseason game.
Things move fast in the NBA Preseason. Two games ago, the Milwaukee Bucks were 2-0. Now they’re 2-2, and look to be without Michael Carter-Williams for the rest of the preseason once the team deals him to the Chicago Bulls.
Unfortunately his replacement, Tony Snell, likely won’t suit up for the Bucks this preseason. Snell has been out with an ankle sprain for a few days now, and even if he was healthy it’s unlikely Snell gets to the Bucks in time to play tonight.
It would be nice to see him suit up in the Bucks final preseason game against the Indiana Pacers though, especially since Snell might end up starting Opening Night for the Bucks!
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Sadly he won’t be around for this game though, so enough Snell talk. The Bucks are heading to Detroit to face the Pistons, who are also 2-2. The Pistons had the opposite start to the preseason–they started 0-2 and then won two straight to get here.
Detroit took a huge L earlier this month though, when the team realized Reggie Jackson would miss up to eight weeks with a knee injury. Ish Smith has stepped up in the meantime, and is likely who the Bucks will see at point guard on Monday.
The Pistons have a lot of talented young players. Stanley Johnson, Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris, Andre Drummond, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Gbinije are all worth watching, and all or most of them should suit up against the Bucks.
On the Milwaukee side of things, the first thing fans will notice is seeing the team without Michael Carter-Williams. MCW has been an important part of the Bucks for a year and a half now, like him or not, so it’ll be strange to see the Bucks without him for the entirety of the season.
Rashad Vaughn could be getting his last chance to prove he belongs in the rotation in these last two preseason games, if he gets to play at all. Snell will likely be the Bucks starter at shooting guard, which brings Milwaukee down to one position battle.
John Henson had the best start out of the three centers, and he had another pretty good contest in the Bucks last game against the Bulls. Miles Plumlee got the start in that game, and he looked fine if not spectacular.
After a few strong efforts, Greg Monroe got the night off against Chicago. He and MCW both sat for that game, causing fans to remember that rumor had it the Bucks were looking to deal one or both of them a week ago.
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If Monroe sits this game out too, those rumors will certainly intensify. If he doesn’t, it should provide another valuable look into how coach Jason Kidd is intending to use his stable of bigs.
Three is clearly too many, but the Bucks seem firmly set on getting fair value on deals they make. The team has no desire to give away Monroe for nothing.
Oh, and watching Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker will obviously be fun in this one. Those two are the keys to success for the Bucks this year–without Khris Middleton, they’ll need to be top-notch for the Milwaukee Bucks to have a shot at making the playoffs.
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Thon Maker continues to be a joy to watch as well, even if he’s not ready to play center yet. It’s not like Milwaukee has any shortage of those anyway.