Milwaukee Bucks: Dragan Bender showcases potential on assignment with Wisconsin Herd

On assignment with the Wisconsin Herd, who kicked off their 2019-20 season over the weekend, Milwaukee Bucks big man Dragan Bender showcased where his developing game stands at this stage.

The Wisconsin Herd kicked off their 2019-20 G League season in style over the weekend.

Splitting contests in their season opening home-and-home set with the Windy City Bulls, the Herd managed to give first-year head coach Chase Buford the first victory of his coaching career Saturday night by taking a 111-102 victory on the road against the Bulls.

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While the Herd have sported early improvements with their revamped roster, including both of their two-way players in Frank Mason III and Cam Reynolds, they’ve also got a big boost with fourth-year Bucks big man Dragan Bender being sent down on assignment.

After signing a two-year, partially guaranteed deal with the Bucks over the offseason, Bender put on a slew of encouraging performances with the Bucks throughout their undefeated preseason.

However, that hasn’t translated into any court time so far this Bucks season as Bender has been inactive throughout all of the team’s 10 games as of this writing. So it was only natural for Bender to be sent on assignment with the Herd to get some much needed reps, as well as make his G League debut in Oshkosh. And through the Herd’s first two games, it’s Bender who stands as the affiliate’s leading scorer by averaging 19 points on .481/.286/.667 shooting splits.

Of course, Bender’s three-point struggles stand as a big point of emphasis in his development if he’s to fulfill a potential role with the Bucks, and he’s gone just 4-for-14 from beyond the arc while on assignment. Combine that with the 21-year-old going 7-for-13 from three during the Bucks’ five preseason games and it just falls in line with the inconsistencies that Bender has shown throughout his NBA career to this point.

With that said, Bender has more than made up for his three-point struggles by showing his array of skilled ball-handling, putting the ball down on the floor and attacking closeouts from overeager Bulls defenders to put down easy finishes at the cup.

And Bender has made himself an easy target for Herd ball-handlers in either pick and roll situations and/or establishing great position in the paint for point-blank finishes, as he’s gone 7-of-9 from the restricted area in the Herd’s first two games. The same goes for Bender’s ability to clean up on the offensive glass and put down second chance opportunities as 10 of his 38 total points with the Herd have come via that way.

When the Croatian international has tried to show glimpses of playing beyond his stretch-5 skill set is where some of his limitations have come to the fore. That’s been evident in his attempts to distribute the ball to his Herd teammates as Bender has racked up nine turnovers and a 0.22 assist-to-turnover ratio.

That could easily be a byproduct of the chemistry he’s trying to build with a whole new set of teammates that he’s sharing the floor with, some for the very first time, beyond the affiliate and returning players the Bucks brought in throughout training camp.

Switching over to the defensive side of the ball, Bender’s size and overall presence has lent itself well with the Herd utilizing the same defensive principles that the Bucks have prioritized under head coach Mike Budenholzer.

That’s been helpful in being able to defend the paint, something the Herd did exceptionally well in their win over the Bulls where they allowed just 24 paint points and Bender played a big part in oncoming Bulls drivers shying away from the basket for tougher finishing attempts. And Bender’s rim protection has resulted in him averaging 1.5 blocks and the Herd have allowed the fifth-lowest finishing percentage from the restricted area in the G League so far following the opening weekend.

One area on the defensive end where Bender can make key strides in is on the glass where Bender is averaging 6.5 total rebounds and has collected a 14.1 defensive rebounding percentage off of opponents’ misses. But the Herd, in general, have been much improved in that regard as they rank fifth in defensive rebounding percentage to start the 2019-20 season.

It’s certainly a small sample size to go off from when it comes to Bender’s play with the Herd and there haven’t been all that many surprises, both good and bad, when evaluating how he’s been able to make an impact for the Bucks’ G League affiliate.

As playing time, much less dressing for Bucks games continues to be hard to come by, Bender can really set himself up for a role in the future with continued assignments to the Herd potentially on the cards as they settle into their season. There’s a solid foundation for Bender to build on from the early glimpses we’ve seen of him while in a Herd uniform.