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3 Takeaways From the Milwaukee Bucks’ First Summer League Game

By Camden Fuller

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 13: Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks gives a thumbs-up as he leaves a game between the Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2021 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on August 13, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 13: Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks gives a thumbs-up as he leaves a game between the Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2021 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on August 13, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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G-League Ignite: MarJon Beauchamp, Grand Rapids Gold: Devonte Patterson, Nik Stauskas
G-League Ignite: MarJon Beauchamp, Grand Rapids Gold: Devonte Patterson, Nik Stauskas /

On Friday, the Milwaukee Bucks got off to a solid start to their summer league campaign with a 94-90 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. While it wasn’t always pretty, as it shouldn’t be for summer league games, it was still nice to see a Bucks victory, especially since the Nets were on the receiving end. Although it is generally a fool’s errand to takeaway anything meaningful from the summer league, especially the first game, there are a still a few trends and performances that are worth taking a look at.

With that in mind, here are a few noteworthy things I saw from the Bucks on Friday.

Takeaways From the Milwaukee Bucks’ First Summer League Game: Marjon Beauchamp Can Play

Friday evening felt very much like the full Marjon Beauchamp experience. Watching him smother ball handlers and cause havoc in the passing lanes made you wonder how he fell all the way to the Bucks at pick 24. A few seconds later, he got the ball on a mismatch, air-balled a shot, and you maybe see why he wasn’t in the lottery.

What was nice to see was him knocking down some difficult shots from beyond the arc, as he went 3-6 on the night behind the 3-point line. One of the biggest knocks on him coming out of the G League was his lack of threat as a floor spacer, and while it was only one game, it adds proof that somewhere in there is potential to be a decent shooter. Even if he’s never a 40% 3-point shooter on heavy volume, he needs to be able to make the defense pay by making shots when open in order to stay on the court.

All in all, we knew going into the year that MarJon would be a work in progress, and last night was what I expect to be a good indication of what he can bring to the team at this point in time. Significantly, the defense looks legitimately there. A rookie should not be navigating screens as effectively as Beauchamp did on Friday night, he will spend the next few years learning under one of the best screen navigators in the league in Jrue Holiday. It will be important for Marjon to build off of this decent start to his NBA career throughout the rest of the summer league and into training camp and preseason in order to get on the path to maximizing his substantial potential.

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