The Milwaukee Bucks have spent the last few months tweaking their roster to add more quality role players, which has created some question marks.
With so much talent in town, fans have questioned what Coach Mike Budenholzer’s shortened playoff rotation could look like. The regular season has been about experimenting with players to see who goes where, which may give Budenholzer an idea about which players need more or less time in the playoff rotation. With that said, let us look at three players who may get more time on the floor down the stretch and into the postseason.
3 Bucks’ role players whose minutes could increase down the stretch: Jae Crowder
It’s been an unorthodox season for Jae Crowder. After voluntarily sitting out the first portion of the season awaiting a trade, the veteran landed with the Bucks in February. Since then, the team has managed his minutes closely, having averaged 18 per game in his 13 appearances thus far, as they did not want to just immediately throw him into the fire. As the playoffs near and Crowder gets more and more up to speed, his minutes are seemingly bound to increase.
It would not be surprising at all to see Crowder inserted into Milwaukee’s starting five before the playoffs begin. Alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez, Crowder would help form a lethal defensive-minded group. The Bucks took a similar approach last season when they swapped Grayson Allen out of the starting five for Wesley Matthews. Similarly to Matthews, Crowder would provide more defensive intensity over Allen and give the Bucks a big wing to throw at opposing scorers.
Whether or not he starts, the Bucks will certainly look to get Crowder more involved. His minutes could surpass 30 on average easily, which would obviously be more than he is at right now. He will be on the floor in some big moments for Milwaukee as they will utilize him as much as possible to slow down other big wings.
3 Bucks’ role players whose minutes could increase down the stretch: Wesley Matthews
Speaking of Wesley Matthews, his minutes are likely to increase as well. Some would argue this point, given that Matthews is currently logging the fewest minutes of his career at 15.5 per game, but something similar happened last year. Matthews logged 20.8 minutes during the 2021-22 regular season but saw 28.8 minutes per game in the postseason. Sure, plenty of that could be due to Khris Middleton’s absence, but Matthews could see a similar uptick this season.
While the aforementioned Crowder will take on the primary wing-defending duties that Matthews did last year, the latter could be used situationally. When Crowder needs a breather or when there are two opposing wing scorers on the floor, Matthews could check-in. Even at 36 years old, he has some fuel left in the tank and provides decent defense. Matthews has somewhat been the team’s forgotten man in the rotation this season, but his importance could surely increase soon.
Circling back to last year’s playoffs, Matthews logged the third most minutes among any Buck, trailing only Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, per Basketball-Reference. That means he saw more time than Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton, both of whom have been featured quite heavily in Milwaukee’s rotation this season. Coach Budenholzer recently went with Matthews over Connaughton in the rotation in a matchup with the Boston Celtics, so he may do the same down the line in matchups with elite scoring wings.
3 Bucks’ role players whose minutes could increase down the stretch: Joe Ingles
Crowder and Matthews are both likely to see more minutes down the line due to the defense they provide, but that is not the case with Joe Ingles. The veteran forward has never been a strong defender in his career, which may have some scratching their head about his inclusion on this list. Ingles, who is playing a tick over 22.7 minutes per game right now, could see more minutes due to the shot creation and overall offensive versatility he brings to the table.
While he’s been hit or miss at times this season, Ingles has consistently shown flashes of what he can do for this team. He’s a tremendous long-range shooter who can also orchestrate the offense when called upon. The latter is extremely important because it means Ingles can take some of the pressure off of the Big 3 having to carry the load. Of course, the shooting is also important due to Milwaukee’s reliance on perimeter shooting.
Ingles just had the best month of his Bucks tenure, which is another reason to have him on this list, as he’s clicking at the perfect time. In March, he averaged 8.5 points and 3.5 assists while shooting the lights out at 51.9 percent from the floor and 50.8 percent from three. He’s been tremendous, and a player capable of doing that could help in big games. Ingles would find himself targeted on defense, but the Bucks would do what they could to mask that. It would also lessen the blow if the forward can produce significantly for the Bucks offensively.
Keep an eye on these three Milwaukee Bucks role players as the postseason nears.