3 things to watch as the Milwaukee Bucks host stellar Boston Celtics

There has been much hullabaloo around the Milwaukee Bucks bench this season and the lack of scoring around the big three.

And for good reason at times as there have been games where they scored fewer than 15 points. It isn’t a huge deal in the playoffs, but you still need a couple of depth guys to step up alongside your stars and help steal a playoff game.

These last couple of games have given encouraging signs that the Bucks depth is still as strong as ever and are capable of stepping up in big moments to help win games.

Even though it was a disappointing loss to the Dallas Mavericks, they still got a combined 37 points off of the bench from Bobby Portis, Grayson Allen, and Pat Connaughton. That, plus Brook Lopez’s 14 points, wasn’t enough to overcome a rough game from Khris Middleton, but those “other guys” certainly made the difference in the next one.

Although Connaughton was held to only two points, Wesley Matthews stepped up with 11 points and three made 3s. Portis and Allen combined for 26 points and, of course, Lopez had a game-high 28 points.

That’s not a formula that will win many playoff games when your three best players all score below 20 points, but it’s a good sign that they’re starting to get contributions throughout their lineup as they settle on a definitive rotation heading into the playoffs.

If the Celtics play their guys, then the Bucks will need a couple of the other guys to step up if a big three member gets shut down.