Opening up their Summer League account on Friday night, the Milwaukee Bucks notched a definitive blowout victory over the Detroit Pistons in Las Vegas.
The Milwaukee Bucks started off their Summer League trip to Las Vegas this year on a very positive note by handily taking care of the Detroit Pistons Friday evening, winning 90-63.
Both the Bucks and the Pistons failed to get off to rousing starts on the night, leading to many, if not all fans slowing their roll when it came to getting too over their head with Summer League excitement. With that said, it was the Bucks who found the bottom of the net more in the first period as they led 14-8 at the end of one.
The scoring gridlock gradually started to change throughout the second quarter, with the Bucks once again getting the better of the Pistons and keeping them at bay throughout the period as they led 39-22 going into halftime.
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Coming out of the break, the Bucks continued to be untested by the Pistons in the second half, despite not finding the same level of success offensively as they did in the second.
Leading 60-41 going into the fourth, the Bucks quickly put the foot down on the gas to eliminate any threat of the Pistons crafting an unlikely comeback throughout the final period, while Christian Wood provided an exclamation point on the victory with his emphatic play.
So without further ado, let’s continue to break down the Bucks’ opening Summer League tilt and take a look at the players and areas that stood out, for both good and bad reasons.
Positive takeaway
Only two-thirds of the Bucks’ contingent on their Summer League roster suited up for action Friday evening with Donte DiVincenzo sidelined due to nursing a right groin strain, per Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
DiVincenzo is still expected to take part in pregame warmups and such, but the Bucks’ first-round pick won’t play today.
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) July 6, 2018
However, both Sterling Brown and D.J. Wilson played integral roles in the Bucks’ victory over the Pistons on Friday night in Cox Pavilion.
Starting with Brown, the 23-year-old posted 14 points and three rebounds on 50 percent from the field in 17 minutes of play.
The former SMU Mustang looked comfortable creating scoring opportunities with the ball in his hands, primarily putting the ball down on the floor and muscling his way through the paint for a few tough finishes at the basket. Additionally, Brown was active in helping disrupt passing lanes and forcing turnovers in general.
As for Wilson, the Michigan product posted 17 points, five rebounds and four steals in 25 minutes of action, while shooting 6-of-11 from the field and finishing with a game-high plus-minus of +29.
The bulk of Wilson’s promising moments came on the defensive end as his above average mobility was on dsiplay throughout the evening and he often used his 7’3″ wingspan to alter shots at the rim and break up passing lanes too.
Offensively, Wilson put in a fine shift by knocking down a pair of threes (one of them banked in) and was active in creating scoring opportunities by running the floor and putting home alley-oop finishes at the bucket.
Yes, it’s only one game, but so far, so good for the Bucks’ pair of second-year players and hopefully similar results will be on display all throughout this year’s Summer League.
Concerning takeaway
It’s tough to comprehend in a win that was as commanding as this one, but for many of the positives of the Bucks’ opening performance, they really didn’t shoot the ball well at all.
Milwaukee made just 45.8 percent of their field goal attempts, just 21 percent of their three-pointers and 68.9 percent from the free throw line.
The free throw shooting isn’t all that concerning as five of the team’s nine misses at the strip came from Christian Wood, who more than made up for it in a variety of other ways.
Unfortunately, the team’s three-point shooting woes aren’t quite as easy to explain. Only D.J. Wilson made more than a single triple, and one of his was more than a little fortunate as it banked in.
In total, Milwaukee made just four three-pointers and attempted only 19 shots from distance overall. The Pistons weren’t any better from deep (19.4 percent), but they still almost doubled up the Bucks’ three-point attempts with a total of 36.
Against better teams, the Bucks will likely need to not just make more three pointers, but also attempt a much more significant volume. Perhaps the return of Donte DiVincenzo can help fuel that over the course of Milwaukee’s participation in Las Vegas.
Player of the game
While it was reassuring to see the duo of Sterling Brown and D.J. Wilson put in solid outings on the night, it was Christian Wood who made the strongest impression of any player for the Bucks in their opening Summer League game this year.
Playing just 18 minutes, Wood put up 23 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, while knocking down 9-of-15 shots from the field.
It took some time for the former Runnin’ Rebel to get into the swing of things, much like both teams in general throughout the first quarter. But that started to change in the second quarter as Wood jumpstarted the Bucks with a string of scores off of second chance opportunities and at the free throw line late in the period.
Once Wood found his rhythm, all Pistons players had a tough time slowing him down or avoiding his presence on both ends of the floor, considering the number of rejections he sent away at the rim and vicious dunks he threw down as well.
For a player that’s been continuously knocking on the door of the league throughout his young career, Wood has been through this rodeo a number of times since going undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft.
When asked by Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about where he’s looking to make an impact when he steps foot on the floor with the Bucks this year, Wood said he’s going off of the experience and advice he’s garnered in previous Summer League outings:
"“It’s competing, making multiple efforts on both sides of the floor,” Wood said. “That’s really what you gotta do. Everybody’s going to come in here and try to score and try and do their own thing, but scouts and teams aren’t looking at that. They’re looking for the little things, so that’s what I’m trying to do.”"
If the 22-year-old continues to do that in Las Vegas, he may very well lock down a spot in the league in some capacity when this year’s Summer League is all said and done.
Who’s next?
Next up for the Bucks in Las Vegas are the Dallas Mavericks, who they are set to take on Sunday night at 6 p.m. central time. Once again, you can catch the broadcast on NBA TV or on any ESPN-related streaming service.
The Mavericks opened up their Summer League play Friday night with a loss as they fell to the Phoenix Suns 92-85 in the Thomas & Mack Center.
In the first few weeks of this year’s offseason, the Mavericks have certainly made waves with the major additions they’ve made through both the draft and early on in free agency to speed up their rebuilding phase.
While the latter was shown in the move to sign former Los Angeles Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan on a one-year deal, the headlining and potentially franchise altering move they made this summer was trading for the draft rights to star-strudded European prospect Luka Doncic in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks.
However, the expectation is that Doncic will not be participating in this year’s Summer League due to a variety of factors at this point, despite being listed on the Mavericks’ Summer League roster.
Beyond Doncic, though, the Mavericks will likely have interesting pieces in action such as second-year player Dennis Smith Jr., rookie Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith and two-way players Johnathan Motley and Jalen Jones.
As for any Bucks connections, the Mavericks now sport Kostas Antetokounmpo, brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo, on their roster after taking him with 60th overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
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Whether the Bucks will earn a similar result on Sunday night remains to be seen, but the opportunity is there for the Bucks to take their second win, considering the Mavericks will not be at full strength, contrary to what may have been projected.