With George Hill missing significant time due to injury, the Milwaukee Bucks desperately needed to add another backup point guard in the buyout market. They did so by signing Jevon Carter after he was waived by the Brooklyn Nets last week, and although it was not the flashiest move, Carter has shown some glimpses of potential early on with the Bucks, particularly defensively. Though it has only been two games thus far, the 26-year-old looks like he will fit in well moving forward.
Looking at Jevon Carter’s early solid play with the Milwaukee Bucks
Carter’s first appearance as a member of the Bucks came in last weekend’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, his former team. Being waived by them recently, it appeared that Carter played with a chip on his shoulder by hounding the Nets defensively from start to finish. One particular player that Carter looked to pester was Goran Dragic, whom the Nets released Carter to sign just days prior. Milwaukee’s new guard pressured Dragic whenever he got the opportunity and even forced an eight-second violation due to his stellar pestering defense.
Carter only played nine minutes against Brooklyn as he exited his debut game early, finishing with zero points on just one shot attempt, one rebound, and one assist. Though Carter did not stuff the stat sheet, the guard made a strong first impression with his defensive excellence. That defense is primarily what the Bucks need from him whenever he steps onto the floor, and he lived up to early expectations in his first game, having provided some reason for optimism in a grueling defeat.
The guard saw far more playing time in Milwaukee’s next outing against the Charlotte Hornets by playing an eye-catching 29 minutes. This time around, Carter brought some scoring off the bench in addition to his defense by tallying 10 points. It was a solid shooting night from behind the arc as Cater shot 2-of-5 to notch his first points as a Buck. That 3-point shot could be the ultimate key to Carter carving out a significant role with Milwaukee, as his defensive presence will grant him time, but if he can consistently knock down triples, he would be trusted even more.
Following Milwaukee’s big win over Charlotte, Carter spoke to the media and raved about how he has enjoyed playing with the Bucks early on due to their defensive intensity.
"“Man, it’s fun. I was telling the guys, I was like, ‘I haven’t played this hard in I don’t know how long,’ you know what I’m saying? Just being out there with a team that’s locked in defensively, for me it’s just fun to be a part of honestly. That’s really all I can say, I’m just having fun.”"
Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday, who certainly knows a thing or two about defense as well, chimed in and spoke about how Carter and fellow newcomer DeAndre’ Bembry have fit with the champs and the roles they have played.
"“It’s great. Picking up full court, making it harder on other teams. Once they get over halfcourt, there is so much time off the shot clock that you’re kind of rushing the play, you kind of rush the ball-handler. A lot goes into it and I know tonight they probably need to ice up, but that’s what’s needed, and I mean, I think they will get used to it. But I think playing that was intensely, just being able to start that way with them, everyone else picks up on that too.”"
Carter’s defensive presence has been on display as the guard currently has the best individual defensive rating on the team over these past two games at 98.8, according to NBA.com/stats. Hopefully he can continue to give the Bucks a defensive boost off the bench on a nightly basis as he aims to carve out a role for himself on this contending team.
So far, Carter has played well with the Milwaukee Bucks, and as long as Hill is sidelined with his lingering neck soreness, the point guard will be relied on heavily.