Milwaukee Bucks: Reserve grades from playoff sweep of the Miami Heat
By Dalton Sell
The Milwaukee Bucks are anxiously awaiting their next opponent after becoming the first team to finish a series in these NBA Playoffs.
Taking down the Miami Heat in four games, the Bucks looked to be firing on all cylinders throughout this series as they knocked out the very team that ended their season last year. Among the many changes between last season’s playoff defeat to the Heat and this season’s dominant victory were the contributions from the second unit.
More from Bucks News
- Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
- Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
It is no secret that the Bucks spent handsomely to retool their bench unit with several household names over the past few months. Judging by how things transpired in this series with the Heat, it seems safe to say those new additions have made themselves known in a big way.
Previously handing out individual grades for performances from each of the starters throughout the series, here are similar grades for each member of the second unit.
END OF THE BENCH . INC. It was welcoming to see Milwaukee’s depth get some burn in this series as the players up front handled their business against Maimi. Winning these four games by an average of 20.5 points per contest, head coach Mike Budenholzer often unloaded his bench once the game had already been decided to get his younger players some action. Milwaukee’s encouraging rookie core was on full display in these contests, led by Jordan Nwora, who saw the most time with 13 minutes. Earning the most time among any of the bunch, Nwora struggled to make an imprint as he scored just five points on 2-for-10 shooting from the floor. Meanwhile, newcomer Elijah Bryant, Sam Merrill, and Mamadi Diakite logged 12 each. Veteran backup Jeff Teague played just 10 minutes overall, while Axel Toupane played eight, and lastly, Justin Jackson saw a single minute of playing time. Given the small sample sizes all around, there is not much to take away from the performances from this group. It was great to see them earn some time thanks to some dominating efforts from the starters, but grading these guys one by one might be unfair given the minimal minutes between them.. . Milwaukee Bucks