The Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Indiana Pacers in their third preseason contest. Here’s what fans need to know.
The hope of the Milwaukee Bucks having a perfect preseason is over after the Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, 101-83.
After some indecision pregame, Paul George did not end up playing in this game. Still, the Pacers absolutely handled the Bucks in Evansville, Indiana. The teams battled in the first quarter, but after that the Pacers held the lead for the rest of the game.
Obviously, a lot went wrong for the Bucks. Still, this piece will focus on both good and bad takeaways from the game. There were some bright spots, even if they were hard to find.
The Bucks next game is on Saturday, at home against the Chicago Bulls. It’s one of just two preseason games at the BMO Harris Bradley Center–the other is Wednesday, again against the Pacers.
Hopefully the Bucks handle Chicago again, and the next five takeaways from Bucks preseason basketball aren’t as dour as some of the ones included here!
Giannis Antetokounmpo Finally Has A Good Game
Although nobody was panicking, it was starting to feel weird that Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had been so quiet through two games. That weirdness is gone after Giannis tore up the Paul George-less Pacers.
More from Bucks News
- Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
- Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
Giannis racked up 20 points, six assists, five rebounds and a block in 24 minutes against Indiana. He got to the line 11 times, and made seven of his foul shots. Giannis took two threes in the game as well, making one of them.
Unfortunately, not everything was roses for Antetokounmpo. He had four assists to go along with his six assists, which is not the kind of skillful play-making Giannis proved he’s capable of last season.
This wasn’t a bad game by any means, but it goes to show just how good Giannis was last season that it still doesn’t resemble what he’s truly capable of. This is the ideal time to knock the rust off, so it’s dumb to be worried Giannis or anything like that. Certain other Bucks are inspiring some concern, though.
Rashad Vaughn Continues To Struggle
It’s been a rough career for Rashad Vaughn thus far. Last season he was one of the worst players in the NBA. Vaughn’s supposed to be a floor-spacer. He doesn’t have the chops on defense to make it in the NBA based on his ability on that end, and he’s not a ball-handler like Malcolm Brogdon.
Vaughn needs to knock down threes to have value. He missed all four of his attempts from deep against the Pacers. Vaughn missed all but one of his six field goal attempts too, although he did make all three of his free throws.
In addition to his five points, Vaughn totaled three rebounds, two assists and two turnovers. He just hasn’t been able to find a niche at the NBA level. Vaughn came up as a scorer, and he might not have the versatility to become something else at this stage.
It’s never smart to read too much into preseason action, but the difference between this game from Vaughn and Giannis’ string of disappointing contests is what the players have done before. Giannis proved he can play at an All-Star level last season–Vaughn has never been able to consistently score the basketball.
The Bucks will need Vaughn this season in Khris Middleton‘s absence, especially if the team can’t find a trade to bring in another wing player. So far, he hasn’t shown that he’s ready for the increased load he may well end up seeing.
Jason Terry Finally Gets To Play
Jason Terry had logged exactly zero minutes through Milwaukee’s two preseason games. There was no guarantee he would play at all. Terry is healthy, but he’s also old. The 17-year veteran doesn’t exactly need much practice to do his thing at this point.
Terry’s thing is shooting, and he made the only three he attempted against the Pacers. Terry played 11 minutes, made a three, missed a two-point field goal and fouled somebody. That’s about all Milwaukee needs to see from the oldest Buck in franchise history in the preseason.
Despite his age and lack of minutes, Terry still made more threes than Rashad Vaughn in the game. If the young guard isn’t careful, Jet might just take off with his minutes. There was talk earlier of Malcolm Brogdon potentially taking Vaughn’s role–Terry is now in that discussion too.
As much as you’ve got to limit minutes on a 39-year-old player, Terry played over 250 more minutes than Vaughn did last season. If he continues to fend off Father Time, Terry could find himself in a more important role than anybody expected this season.
John Henson Is Still Good
After a quiet first two preseason games. John Henson showed up in spectacular fashion against the Pacers. He got the start for Milwaukee, and proved that he works better with the starting five.
More from Behind the Buck Pass
- Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
- Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
Henson finished the night with 11 points on just seven shots, to go along with eight rebounds, a steal and a block. Those are good numbers for a center in 25 minutes, but it took Henson just 16 to rack up those numbers.
There’s been talk about trading him, but that’s mostly due to the odd nature of the Bucks having three high-priced centers. It’s certainly possible he gets dealt, but it’s also possible John Henson finally ends up as the starter in Milwaukee.
Jason Kidd has been quiet about who will get the nod in the regular season, quite possibly because the job is still at least partially open. All three centers have gotten at least one start now, and Henson’s was the best performance by a starting center so far.
If he gets another starting nod and repeats his strong performance, he could have a shot to start Opening Night for the first time ever.
Milwaukee’s Outside Shooting Is Tenuous
Matthew Dellavedova took the night off to rest up against the Pacers. Without him, Milwaukee made five of 22 three-pointers against the Pacers. Shooting 22.7 percent from beyond the arc isn’t going to blow away anybody in the NBA.
The Milwaukee Bucks don’t need to shoot like the Golden State Warriors to be good, but they need to be better shooters than they were on Wednesday. No player made more than one three–Jabari Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter-Williams, Mirza Teletovic and Jason Terry all made one.
The surprising part is that Teletovic made just 25 percent of his shots from deep, whereas MCW and Giannis made half of their threes and Jabari made 33 percent. Those percentages don’t mean much considering the sample sizes consisted of literally one made shot, but still.
Malcolm Brogdon, Rashad Vaughn and Michael Beasley are supposed to bring at least some spacing to Milwaukee’s offense. They combined to shoot zero-for-nine from three-point territory.
Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Perfect Storm For A Rebuild
This is just one preseason game, but it doesn’t seem like an isolated incident. The Bucks are going to lack spacing all season, again, unless the find a way to add another shooter before the regular season.