3 Milwaukee Bucks who should currently be getting more minutes
3 Bucks who should be getting more minutes – Bobby Portis
Now this is a strange one as Bobby Portis is already playing 18.8 minutes per game off the bench, which seems like a lot, but he actually was averaging 26 last season. Prior to his four-point performance against the Knicks, Portis had scored double-digits in the first four games of the season and was one of the more reliable scorers on the Bucks.
He is currently averaging 10.4 points per game on 47 percent shooting with five rebounds. With the Bucks’ struggles so far defensively, his energy, and if Griffin persists with not dropping his big man, then Portis is a solid perimeter defender and would be more comfortable in those sorts of switches than Lopez.
Last season, he was close to averaging a double-double off the bench and put himself in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation, which he will hope to do again this season.
It seems as though Coach Griffin has swapped Portis’ minutes with Jae Crowder, with the latter now being the one to average 25 minutes per game. This is no dig at Crowder as he has started the season well, scoring 8.4 points and shooting 56.3 percent from three, which is vital to the Bucks along with his defense. It just feels strange that Portis has seen such a decrease in minutes, and yet he is still putting up strong numbers.
It is, of course, early in the season, and the Bucks are still getting used to the lineups and schemes so a month into the season, the minutes may have changed massively. Portis, I think, will see an increase as he continues to be effective in all aspects of the game. Beauchamp will slowly earn more and more game time, whilst Jackson Jr. can be a real asset to the Bucks and be used more often.
We are only five games in, so plenty can change. Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis throughout the NBA season.