3 things to watch as Milwaukee Bucks travel to face Orlando Magic

Are we seeing the Milwaukee Bucks’ ideal rotation?

It was only one game, but the rotation that Mike Budenholzer used against the Celtics looked awfully close to the one we can expect to see in big games and into the playoffs.

Of course, the main differences are that it will (hopefully) be Brook Lopez in place of DeMarcus Cousins in the starting lineup (or swapping Bobby Portis for Cousins in the meantime) and that the minutes will change once DiVincenzo gets his legs under him.

Budenholzer went with a 10-man rotation as Wesley Matthews jumped in from the group of players that weren’t in the predicted nine-man rotation. The wing rotation has been something that I thought had been the weakest point of the Bucks’ roster to this point, so Matthews’ emergence has been a welcomed sight.

Something notable was how the Bucks closed the game with a five-man unit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Wesley Matthews, George Hill, and Jrue Holiday. That group dominated the final three or so minutes of the Celtics game as they went switch-heavy, so that’s a lineup to watch out for the rest of the season.

Of course, tonight isn’t necessarily a game where the Bucks will need to run a tight rotation that mirrors what they’ll look like in the playoffs. These are games where the Bucks can afford to try things on both sides of the ball with different lineups.

However, we’ve seen who Budenholzer trusts most in a higher stakes game, so that’s something to keep an eye on.

That being said, these next few games could also be a chance for guys out of the rotation to play some minutes and see if they can change their head coach’s mind.