How will DeAndre’ Bembry fit into a potentially even thinner Milwaukee Bucks wing rotation?
The newest Buck, DeAndre’ Bembry, will likely make his debut tonight! How exciting! After freeing up three roster spots, the defending champs added Bembry after he was let go from the Nets. He was officially signed yesterday and if he doesn’t play tonight, well that would be a bit of shock.
It would honestly be more surprising if he doesn’t play than if it was announced that he was starting this game with all the injuries the Bucks have dealt with to their wing depth. First, it was dealing Donte DiVincenzo, then Pat Connaughton broke his finger, and then Grayson Allen left the Pacers game with a hip injury and is doubtful tonight.
Wesley Matthews missed that game with a toe injury, but he’s listed as probable so there’s some good news at least.
Still, Bembry will have a very big role right away in his Bucks debut and has a chance to earn the trust of the coaching staff that he’s a player who could help them in big games.
I went through what the Bucks’ rotation could look like with Bembry and it has already been thrown out of whack with the recent injuries!
Anyway, Bembry will likely fill the P.J. Tucker role on offense that consists of standing in the corner or the dunker spot, firing 3s, or crashing the offensive glass. He’ll be a great complement to Antetokounmpo, Middleton, and Holiday off the ball as a cutter. He scored on 76.1 percent of his cutting possessions and averaged 1.52 points per possession on cuts, which is in the 91st percentile, according to NBA.com/stats.
Defensively, it will be interesting to see how he’s used right away. He has a ton of energy and can guard up a position if needed, but the Bucks also have a bunch of good defenders and he won’t need to do as much as he did with the Nets.
He should give them some good minutes in his debut and feel his way through playing with his new teammates. I expect he’ll be behind Matthews to start, especially if Allen is out, but he and Ibaka will get all the minutes they can handle.