Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 116-94 Loss to Philadelphia 76ers

Marshall’s Bucks debut

The Bucks’ newest team member was thrust into action on Saturday night against Joel Embiid and the 76ers. Marshall Plumlee was on the floor for nine minutes in total, and it turned out to be a pretty busy night for the seven-footer out of Duke.

Plumlee entered the game towards the end of the second quarter. Right out of the gate, he found himself on a rim run as Eric Bledsoe’s fast break partner. Bledsoe unleashed a beautiful behind the back pass that Plumlee corralled and managed to control long enough to draw a shooting foul.

While it could have been a highlight finish if the timing was a little better, it was frankly impressive that Plumlee did not fumble the pass and turn it over. Plumlee went to the stripe and scored his first points as a Buck.

This was followed up by gutsy defense against Joel Embiid on several subsequent positions. He combined with Brown to force a turnover, and bothered Embiid into a miss at the rim and a missed jumper. He also drew a foul while battling for an offensive rebound. His play appeared to energize the Bucks, as they brought the 76ers lead down to six at the end of the first half.

Marshall got some run in the fourth quarter as well. This was not quite as strong of an appearance for the young center, as he committed two costly turnovers while the game was still in the balance.

He ended up with six points and six rebounds, and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the line. It will be interesting to see if Jason Kidd can find more minutes for his new big man moving forward.

Next: Win In 6 Podcast #176: Age, accountability and post-game press conferences

The Bucks will next be in action when they host the Phoenix Suns on Monday night at the Bradley Center.