Milwaukee Bucks: 3 big overreactions after first 3 games of 2021-22

There’s nothing better early in an NBA season than to overreact to small samples and attempt to deduce something for the remainder of the season with a sweeping generalization. The Milwaukee Bucks have had three very different results through three games, leading to some interesting stat lines and giving us some fun sample size theatre.

Any time you blow a team out, then get blown out, and follow it up with a relatively close win, it’ll lead to some overreactions and it’s always a little fun to take a look at the early numbers. These absolutely shouldn’t be taken at face value and it’s purely for poking fun at the folks who take these very early small samples seriously.

Don’t overreact to small samples, folks!

3 overreactions to the Milwaukee Bucks first 3 games: Pat Connaughton is going to be a Sixth Man of the Year candidate

Listen, I know he’s started two out of the first three games, but that’s purely due to circumstance, and Pat Connaughton will be back in his usual valuable reserve role once the Bucks get their players back healthy.

But look at the production he’s putting up so far, he is absolutely going to be in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation by season’s end. So far this season, Connaughton is averaging 14 points, 4.7 rebounds, two assists, and is shooting 41.2 percent from 3-point range (73.8 percent true shooting). Those are some damn impressive marks for one of the Bucks’ most underappreciated players.

Looking back at last season, Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles posted a line of 12.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists while shooting over 45 percent from three (67.2 percent true shooting). He doesn’t quite have the assist numbers, but Connaughton has been more efficient so far, primarily due to him shooting nearly 91 percent on his 2-point attempts.

Connaughton also plays tough and versatile defense that allows the Bucks to play multiple different styles and looks defensively. He’s a key piece to the operation for head coach Mike Budenholzer, and he’s shown so far that he’ll be right there with the best reserves at the end of the season.