Milwaukee Bucks: 3 keys to victory when hosting New Orleans Pelicans
By Dalton Sell
Second key to victory when hosting New Orleans Pelicans — Milwaukee Bucks need another big night from their bench
Milwaukee’s bench has been hot and cold this season and currently rank right in the middle of the pack in terms of scoring by averaging 35.6 points per game a night.
However, as evidenced by their big win against Minnesota Tuesday night, this team is a tough out when their bench is contributing at such a high-level. The second unit chipped in an impressive 49 points in the victory and helped propel Milwaukee’s 27-point win. Another red-hot performance against this New Orleans team would provide a substantial boost, particularly given how poorly they played last time these two met.
The Bucks’ reserves poured in a mere 24 points that night, which undoubtedly hurt the team as they lost by just five points. This time around, Milwaukee will need that scoring spark from the bench, and they should particularly look to get sharpshooter Bryn Forbes involved. Forbes scored a season-high 23 points in the win over Minnesota Tuesday by catching fire as he shot 5-of-9 from behind the 3-point line.
New Orleans is allowing the third-highest amount of 3-point attempts this season, and their opponents are hitting such shots at a 39.3 percent clip, which is the third-highest mark in the league as well. There is no question the Bucks must exploit that and if Forbes, in particular, can sustain the hot hand from his previous showing and knock down some more shots from behind the arc, it would be a notable boost in this rematch.