Milwaukee Bucks: What’s trending in the fifth week of the season

The Milwaukee Bucks’ bench has been a falling trend.

After praising the effort of players like Bobby Portis, Bryn Forbes and Pat Connaughton only last week, the three of them were largely nowhere to be found in the Bucks’ two marquee games this week. And that’s without getting into the extended struggles of veteran point guard D.J. Augustin.

To see the Bucks fight valiantly against the Nets, despite a poor shooting night from beyond the arc, the team’s bench unit offered very little in way of support to the Bucks’ foundational pieces as they collectively scored 19 total points on 7-for-23 shooting from the field.

It was Connaughton who helped save the day with the three triples he provided to give some boost in some fashion. Augustin also stuck out like a sore thumb by scoring just 2 points on 0-for-7 shooting in over 19 minutes of run.

Milwaukee’s loss to the Lakers only managed to bang the same drum regarding their bench woes by pitching in 16 total points, though on just 8-of-17 shooting from the floor (0-for-3 from deep).

As BTBP co-site expert Jordan Treske dove into earlier this week, the Bucks’ bench just hasn’t been pulling their weight when it comes hitting their mark in games the Bucks need against elite-level teams. And that lack of production is certainly troubling when the Bucks have the kind of championship aspirations they do this season.