The Milwaukee Bucks have quickly gotten back on track over the course of what will be their longest road trip of the season.
After getting blown out by the L.A. Clippers a week ago, the Bucks have picked up three straight victories over the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings, Giannis Antetokounmpo put in a MVP-caliber performance in that win over Portland while the newly extended Jrue Holiday has been absolutely brilliant, extending his top form since the All-Star break.
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Beyond that, though, this trek has been notable for the fact that a pair of Bucks rookies, Mamadi Diakite and Jordan Nwora, have gotten some rare minutes in the Bucks’ rotation.
Starting with Diakite, the two-way center was inserted in the rotation to soak up limited minutes when backup Bucks center Bobby Portis was included in the league’s health and safety protocols at the start of the trip.
Nearly playing a total of 16 minutes in the Bucks’ clashes against the Clippers and Lakers, Diakite didn’t stuff the stat sheet in any meaningful way over those spot minutes. However, Diakite did sink his first NBA 3-pointer off a feed from Antetokounmpo late in the first quarter of that Lakers win.
Milwaukee Bucks rookie Jordan Nwora showed his potential in win over Kings
Turning our attention over to Nwora, the Bucks sharpshooter took a step into the Bucks’ rotation with Antetokounmpo sidelined with a left knee sprain in the Bucks’ 129-128 victory over the Kings.
Nwora’s scoring and sharpshooting prowess has taken hold in the 152 total NBA minutes he’s seen thus far and especially in his 21-point performance against the New York Knicks late last month.
While Nwora’s offense and scoring punch has never been a question, how he holds up in the other areas of the game has been a more curious subject. It was on the defensive end where Nwora’s contributions against the Kings shined throughout his 12 minutes and 49 seconds on the court Saturday night.
The following play showed Nwora’s sharp defensive instincts and activity as he rotated from the weak side to force the pass out from De’Aaron Fox, which set the stage for Nwora to then spring into action after the poor pass from Buddy Hield moments later.
With such a play coming not long after Nwora drew the ire of head coach Mike Budenholzer for an effort play earlier in the quarter, it’s safe to say that the Louisville product knows the bar for rotation minutes comes with holding your own defensively.
Whether these kind of spot minutes will continue for Diakite and Nwora or even Sam Merrill in the games that remain during this Bucks season remains to be seen. Despite the limited playing time they’ve gotten so far at the NBA level, they’ve all shown a level of promise of filling out a role for this Bucks team beyond this season.
With the Bucks having returned to being a well-oiled machine as the season has progressed, all Bucks fans are hoping for continued progress from the rookie trio when minutes do come their way.