Milwaukee Bucks Gaming: 2020 2K League season starts with opening loss

Bucks Gaming, the Milwaukee Bucks’ NBA 2K League affiliate, started their season off with a loss to Magic Gaming on Wednesday night.

Bucks Gaming returned to action on Wednesday night, as the NBA 2K League’s third season got underway over the past couple of days, albeit in a way that doesn’t resemble its previous stagings.

Rather than taking place in the league’s Hell’s Kitchen studio with both teams battling it out in front of the assembled fans, the 2020 NBA 2K League is working with remote play for the time being.

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That meant that as Milwaukee Bucks’ affiliate Bucks Gaming played out their opening games of the season on Wednesday night, they did so with their players playing from their home base in Milwaukee, with their opponents, Magic Gaming, similarly playing from Orlando.

After two seasons without tasting the playoffs so far, the Bucks will be desperate to break that duck this season, and had plenty of reason to feel confident heading into the campaign.

Arooks returned for his third season with Bucks Gaming, with little doubt over his status as one of the league’s best players, while Plondo was also back after a sensational campaign that left him in the mix for Rookie of the Year honors in 2019.

Additionally, drafting the highly touted point guard Regg in February’s draft gave plenty of reason to believe the Bucks may be able to figure out a more coherent identity this season, giving them their best chance yet of maximizing their talent, and having it translate to victories.

With a format change for this season, Bucks Gaming played Magic Gaming in what will be the first of 16 total matchups for the Milwaukee-based squad this season. Games will be played as a best of three, with the match winner being the team that picks up two wins on a given night.

For the first action of the season, Bucks GG opted to run with Regg starting at point guard, Ty at shooting guard, Arooks at small forward, Squidris at power forward, and Plondo at center.

Unfortunately for Bucks Gaming, their opening night of action for the current campaign saw them go winless, though, with the Magic winning 2-0 on the night to condemn the Bucks to an 0-1 start in the standings.

After falling to a 74-64 loss in the first game, the Bucks looked to have rallied back in the second match in the hopes of forcing a decider. In spite of having led by double digits in the first half, and by seven points at the interval, though, Magic Gaming outscored Bucks Gaming 49-39 in the second half to take a 3-point victory, and the overall win on the night.

There were some positive signs for Bucks GG, particularly with Regg posting 36 points and eight assists in Game 1, and 41 points and seven assists in Game 2, but the initial reaction would be that the squad may still have to work out how their respective skill-sets can best mesh moving forward. That particularly applies to ensuring that Arooks and Plondo are still able to operate at the high standards they have in the past.

All in all, an opening loss doesn’t need to be a sign of things to come. Bucks GG will have a chance to bounce back very quickly, as they’ll match up with T-Wolves Gaming, the reigning 2K League champions, on Friday night.

Games are available to view on YouTube and Twitch, as in past seasons, with ESPN also offering up some select 2K League action this year.