3 things to watch for in Milwaukee Bucks rematch with Charlotte Hornets

Despite a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, the Milwaukee Bucks fell short against the Charlotte Hornets in their last game. The good news is that they got another shot against these same Hornets tonight! That’s the fun of a two-game mini-series.

The Bucks and Hornets have split the first two games of the season series with this being the third of four games they’ll play this season. It was a bit of a letdown performance from the Bucks after a big win over the Brooklyn Nets a night prior.

The good news is that they can’t have much of a worse two-quarter stretch than they did in the second and third last game. I’ve said before both previous games, the Hornets give the Bucks a lot of trouble for whatever reason and tonight won’t be an easy one.

The Milwaukee Bucks need reinforcements tonight against the Charlotte Hornets

One of the biggest reasons (perhaps the biggest reason) the Bucks lost the first game of this mini-series is that they got nothing out of their role players.

89 of their 106 points came from Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Bobby Portis. That’s over 81 percent of their points!

Yes, they got 17 points on 6-of-36 shooting (16.6 percent) from the other seven players who saw action in that game. That won’t cut it against a very good offensive team like the Hornets. Although they got enough from their role players against the Nets, the last game was a letdown and it’s clear the Bucks need some type of reinforcements back.

Of the four players who were in health and safety protocols, Jrue Holiday cleared them before the last game but sat out due to ankle soreness after picking up an injury against the Toronto Raptors and is listed as out tonight. It’s positive that he cleared protocols so quickly, but the ankle injury is tricky when you consider he missed time this year with an ankle injury.

Pat Connaughton and Grayson Allen entered the protocols together on January 4th, but only Connaughton is listed as questionable between the two of them. George Hill, who entered protocols a day after Connaughton and Allen, is also out.

The Bucks appear to be welcoming Donte DiVincenzo back tonight, who was not listed on the injury report after rolling his ankle in warmups on New Year’s Day.