Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 109-104 win over Charlotte Hornets

Catching a break on the boards

As the worst rebounding team in the NBA, the Bucks were likely planning around a tough matchup on the boards in Hornets center Dwight Howard, who came into Friday averaging 12.5 rebounds per game.

Having gathered 22 in an earlier game against Milwaukee this season, Howard necessitated a standout performance from John Henson, Thon Maker, and Antetokounmpo in keeping him off the glass.

However, just four minutes into the game, Howard appeared to jam his finger under the basket. While he was ruled as questionable to return initially, he never came back into the game after that one short stint.

With Frank Kaminsky and Johnny O’Bryant behind him, the gameplan shifted significantly for both teams. The Hornets went mostly away from their pick-and-roll game, while the Bucks were forced to contend with more of an outside game.

Perhaps he was spurred on by the opportunity, or maybe returning to Wisconsin put a little pep in Kaminsky’s step, but either way, the stretch center outpaced his season averages with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

Canning two three-pointers and hitting a couple of tough post fadeaways to boot, Kaminsky presented a very different threat than Howard. For the Bucks, this meant their deficiencies on the glass were less pronounced, as they wound up matching the Hornets’ rebounds 43 to 43.