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Bucks G League: Wisconsin Herd face tough task in replacing Rayjon Tucker

By Jordan Treske

OSHKOSH, WI - DECEMBER 17: Rayjon Tucker #12 of the Wisconsin Herd shoot over the defense of the Austin Spurs NBA G-League game on December 17, 2019 at the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Mike E. Roemer/NBAE via Getty Images)
OSHKOSH, WI - DECEMBER 17: Rayjon Tucker #12 of the Wisconsin Herd shoot over the defense of the Austin Spurs NBA G-League game on December 17, 2019 at the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Mike E. Roemer/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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After losing their leading scorer in Rayjon Tucker, the Bucks G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, face the difficult task of having to fill the void he leaves behind moving forward in their bounce back campaign.

The Wisconsin Herd are one-third of the way into their 2019-20 season following their run at this year’s G League Showcase in Las Vegas.

At 14-3 on the season, good for the top record in the G League’s Eastern Conference, the Herd have faced very few stumbles in their bounce back campaign under first-year head coach Chase Buford. Yet the biggest loss they’ve experienced this season happened off the court as standout swingman Rayjon Tucker got the call to the big leagues after signing a deal with the Utah Jazz earlier this week.

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Tucker stands as the third player to get a call-up and earn a full NBA deal during the season, following in the footsteps of new Jazz teammate Juwan Morgan and former Bucks two-way player Gary Payton II, who recently inked a deal with the Washington Wizards.

With Tucker now officially posted up in Salt Lake City and looking to kick on in his NBA career, the Herd are forced to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of losing their leading scorer.

Of course, holding the fourth-most efficient offense in the G League, the Herd have shown they possess plenty of firepower and will continue to rely on the likes of their two-way players in Frank Mason III and Cameron Reynolds, as well as Jaylen Adams to bring a consistent scoring lift in the wake of losing Tucker.

But Tucker’s explosive three-level scoring is a wrinkle that the Herd will be hard pressed to replicate or try to recreate and it’s from that standpoint where the challenge of moving forward without such a pivotal contributor will make for an interesting watch as the Herd’s season progresses.

Between the pronounced role Tucker carved out over his 17 games with the Herd, as evidenced by his 25.1 usage percentage, and the extensive minutes that are now opened up in their starting lineup and beyond, Buford is forced to look within to fill such an opening within the team’s rotation.

Perhaps that means more looks at Herd reserve guard Shannon Bogues as the rookie guard is coming off a career-high 25 points in the Herd’s recent win over the Memphis Hustle last weekend. The 23-year-old can certainly deliver some of the hard-nosed, relentless attacking at the basket that will be needed to keep their offensive attack truly dynamic and makes him a natural for a scoring sixth man-like role, even as he fine tunes his shot from deep where he’s 4-of-23 on the season (17.4 percent).

While not a like-for-like replacement, D.J. Hogg has increasingly gotten looks in the Herd’s starting lineup and he offers up the floor spacing needed to replicate the Bucks’ five-out system that Buford has maintained from Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer.

And like Bogues, Hogg is coming off a career-high 24-point performance in the Herd’s win over Memphis last time out and he’s hit 36.5 percent of his 74 3-point attempts while averaging 10.2 points per game on the season thus far.

There’s also the matter of filling Tucker’s spot on the Herd’s roster and there’s no official word as of this writing regarding who the Herd will bring on board.

As integral as Tucker had been to the Herd’s success this season, they’ve shown the depth of the contributors on their roster and there’s no question they will continue to lean on that from here on out as they continue to outpace the East and chase a potential postseason berth for the first time in franchise history.

But between his go-to scoring ability that has made him the leading clutch scorer of the G League so far, as well as his adequate defensive activity that’s boosted by his strong charge-taking ability, Tucker’s departure will test the Herd in several significant ways, even as their brain trust had to foresee him taking the next step in his career at some point this season.

It only shines a light on the conundrum that follows the top G League teams as they can be the very victims of their own success when the talent that rises to the top gets snatched up by interested NBA teams, and that definitely applies to the Herd in the aftermath of losing Tucker.

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In any event, we’ll get our first look at the post-Tucker Herd squad when they host the Lakeland magic for a run of back-to-back home games at Menominee Nation Arena this weekend.

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