Following a tough loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, the Milwaukee Bucks would have to put that behind them and be ready to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back is difficult enough on its own, but the Bucks were severely shorthanded once again. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Donte DiVincenzo, and Wesley Matthews were all sidelined as they remain in the NBA health and safety protocols, while Khris Middleton also sat out with a hyperextended knee and Rodney Hood will Achilles soreness. Although they were both listed as active, Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen got the night off after a hefty workload in the loss to New Orleans. With all of this in mind, it was set to be a tough night for the Bucks on all fronts, which proved true with a 119-90 loss to the Cavaliers. With that said, lets us take a closer look at three takeaways from the matchup.
Sandro Mamukelashvili’s career night serves as a bright spot for the shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks
Without Antetokounmpo and Portis, the Bucks are depleted in the frontcourt right now. That has opened the door for rookie big man Sandro Mamukelashvili to see significant playing time. In fact, Milwaukee’s two-way center got the start at power forward last night, and he took advantage by clocking in the best performance of his young career.
Mamukelashvili scored a career-high 17 points in the matchup, shooting 6-of-13 from the floor. Surprisingly, he did most of his damage on the offensive end from behind the arc, knocking down four triples in nine attempts. Mamukelashvili showed that he does have some versatility with his game offensively, and outside shooting like this is always a plus for bigs looking to earn time in the rotation in Milwaukee. It helps that the rookie stuffed the stat sheet with two rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a blocked shot as he was active all over the floor throughout his 42 minutes.
While the three turnovers and three personal fouls are nothing to love, Mamukelashvili had yet another strong game for the Bucks. With no timetable on a good portion of their absence pieces, he may continue to see hefty minutes for the foreseeable future. If he can knock down triples and play some serviceable defense down low, he will be just fine. His stellar performance against the Cavaliers certainly stands as one of the few bright spots in the brutal loss.