3 things to watch in Milwaukee Bucks finale vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Ok now play the Milwaukee Bucks’ young players as much as possible

For what feels like at least the fifth time this season, I incorrectly predicted that the Milwaukee Bucks would rest their starters before their last game against the Detroit Pistons. I wanted them to play Sandro Mamukelashvili a ton because if you’re going to punt a game, you might as well have some fun and let the rookie do a bunch of stuff!

Well, they played their guys, blew out the Pistons, secured a top-three seed, and Mamukelashvili did end up playing in that game!

Well, the Bucks have essentially confirmed they’ll be punting this game (unless Holiday plays), so again I am asking head coach Mike Budenholzer to start the kids and let ’em play!

I’ve gone over what Mamukelashvili has done in the G League lately and how he could be someone that develops into a solid role player if things break right for him.

So, aside from Mamukelashvili, I’d also like to see Jordan Nwora, Lindell Wigginton, and Rayjon Tucker get a ton of burn in this one.

Nwora played 40 minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers when the Bucks last rested everyone and scored 28 points on 75 percent true shooting in what was a blowout loss. He had a nice little stretch after the All-Star break where he averaged 20 minutes over a five-game span but fell out of the rotation as Budenholzer has appeared to settle on the eight guys he wants in the playoffs.

I still haven’t given up hope with Nwora and am looking forward to how he looks next season.

Wigginton and Tucker are two great stories from this season. They both started with the Wisconsin Herd and have impressed enough to earn NBA contracts with the big club.

Wigginton got some minutes earlier this year when the Bucks were a mess with injuries, but George Hill’s return and Jevon Carter’s emergence pushed him back to a deep bench role. Hill picked up an injury against the Pistons, so we’ll see if that opens any minutes for Carter and if Wigginton will need to be on standby for any “break glass in case of emergency” minutes.