Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 116-82 win over Chicago Bulls

Looking at the new Bucks

While seeing the Bucks’ holdovers perform up to their capabilities was refreshing to watch under Budenholzer’s presence, we also got our first looks at the various players the team added throughout the offseason.

Between Brook Lopez, Ersan Ilyasova, Pat Connaughton and rookie Donte DiVincenzo, all four new Bucks players all had some moments and plays that raised some eyebrows for all the right reasons. Starting with Lopez, the veteran big man hammered home a poster dunk on Parker in the opening minute of the contest for his first Bucks basket.

Unfortunately, the Stanford alum struggled to find his touch from three-point land (0-for-3) in his abbreviated showing as he went on to put up nine points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field, four rebounds and a block.

Regarding Ilyasova, the journeyman forward strung together a solid preseason debut and spent time at both the 4 and 5-spots next to Lopez as well as Antetokounmpo. While he was able to add to the Bucks’ high three-point total (by their standards), he made his mark keeping offensive possessions alive and providing easy tap ins for scoring opportunities that fueled his nine point-performance.

Connaughton looked increasingly sharp as the game wore on knocking down shots from the perimeter as he led all Bucks players in three-point makes with four, which comprised all of his 12 points on the night.

Finally, DiVincenzo showed plenty signs of rust in his shooting touch during his run for the night as he most notably drew air on his first shot attempt, a three, midway through the first quarter (also of note, DiVincenzo was the first sub off of Budenholzer’s bench).

Although DiVincenzo wasn’t able to break his scoring drought until his ninth try during the fourth quarter with a nice finger roll layup, the 21-year-old showcased his ability to crash the boards by hauling down seven rebounds and created scoring opportunities for his teammates by tallying six assists.

The Bucks will next be in action when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night in Ames, Iowa.