3 things to watch in Milwaukee Bucks rematch with Orlando Magic
Keep an eye on the end of bench rotation for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Orlando Magic
Relatively quietly, we’ve seen an interesting battle going on at the back end of the Bucks’ rotation over these last few games.
On Saturday, Semi Ojeleye sat out with a calf injury and it was his first missed game after playing nine straight since coming back from an injury earlier in the year. While he certainly struggled offensively, he managed to average nearly 22 minutes per game in those nine contests.
That injury gave room for Rodney Hood to play his first game after not playing in the previous two games before that. He has picked up five total DNPs this season and four this month. He played over 17 minutes against the Magic and didn’t do a ton (two points, two rebounds, an assist, and a steal).
Hood got the minutes ahead of second-year wing Jordan Nwora who picked up his second consecutive DNP after playing every game before that. It was foreshadowed by Nwora only playing seven and a half minutes against the Lakers, so it wasn’t totally out of the blue but he did play 21 minutes a night before that.
Fans have grown frustrated with Ojeleye’s lack of offense, but it’s clear that head coach Mike Budenholzer values his defensive presence above that. It appears clear that if Ojeleye is available, he’ll play. The last game may have been about rest more than an injury and wanting to give a guy like Hood a chance to play.
Nwora is an interesting situation to me because it appeared as though he had passed Hood but has seemingly been phased out at the moment. He wasn’t playing particularly well with 14.3 points per 36 minutes with a true shooting percentage under 50 percent. He had made some defensive strides but it hasn’t been enough to overcome his lack of scoring.
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It’s a fascinating situation developing for who will grab those extra bench minutes while Brook Lopez and Donte DiVincenzo remain out. The Bucks primary rotation, when everyone is back, will run about nine-deep but there will still be room for spare minutes at the end of the rotation. It seems as though Ojeleye has the inside track for now, but keep an eye on this little battle tonight.