Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 128-102 win over New York Knicks

Pecking order questions

With Robin Lopez sitting out the night due to rest, there was a rare but notable opportunity for Dragan Bender to get some meaningful minutes at the NBA level with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Bender has been tearing it up at the G League level with the Wisconsin Herd of late, meaning he was certainly deserving of being rewarded with a chance to contribute with the parent club.

Bender didn’t score as he went 0-of-3 from the field in his 21 minutes, but he did perform well defensively in following the template that the Lopez brothers have laid out, and corralled seven rebounds for the night.

Beyond his play, Bender’s inclusion on Tuesday was interesting in its own right due to what it may have told us about the current shape of the Bucks’ depth chart.

While Bender soaked up backup center minutes, D.J. Wilson had to settle for 10 minutes of fourth quarter action when the game was already in hand. For as much good will as Bucks fans hold for Wilson, and as promising as so much of his play was last year, his play in limited opportunity has been uninspiring to say the least in this current campaign.

Perhaps this was just viewed as an opportunity to give Bender his share of minutes, but it could also be possible that his work ethic and impact at the G League level is increasingly leading Bender to rise the ranks of Bucks’ role players.

It’s certainly a storyline worth tracking, particularly as Bender’s contract guarantee date for the remainder of the season passed last week.