Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from tough loss to Minnesota Timberwolves

Bobby Portis and Semi Ojeleye struggled mightily in their season debuts with the Milwaukee Bucks in loss to Minnesota Timberwolves

Both Bobby Portis and Semi Ojeleye had been sidelined due to injuries to start the new season, but they were both cleared to go for the Bucks last night. As expected, there was some rust from the pair as they saw their first real action in quite some time.

Portis, who received a nice ovation from the Fiserv Forum crowd when he checked into the game, struggled to find his touch offensively as he scored just six points on 3-of-7 shooting (0-of-3 from behind the arc). Milwaukee’s leading bench scorer from last season will need time to get his legs back after the extended absence, and he got a nice 15 minutes of action last night. As evidenced by his efforts throughout last season, Portis will be a key piece for the Bucks once he gets back up to par, and inserting him back into the lineup last night was the first step to that. He’ll be fine.

Ojeleye also had an insanely tough night on the offensive end as he scored zero points on a brutal 0-of-5 shooting, with all five misses coming from behind the arc. To make matters worse, he also missed both of his free throw attempts. The Bucks did not bring Ojelye in for his offensive ability, but this awful shooting night was tough to watch. Still, this was Ojeleye’s first game in a Bucks uniform, so there is no reason to panic just yet. His role will primarily revolve around playing good defense for the Bucks, and the triples will be an added boost if he can knock them down. Playing nearly 12-and-a-half minutes, Ojeleye left plenty to be desired, but it was great to see him out on the floor after the early injury struggles.

Both players will likely be utilized by the Bucks over the course of the season, but it will take time for them to mesh and get back up to speed.