The Bucks kicked off their season with a loss to the Wizards but, on the bright side, rookie Brayden Burries balled out with 12 points in just 15 minutes. Unfortunately, his opportunities were stunted by splitting backup shooting guard minutes with AJ Green, who was solid but not great in the same way. As the Bucks lean into their youth movement more and more this season, Green needs to be better if he wants to keep getting playing time over Burries.
Burries proved he deserves more minutes
It was a great NBA debut for Burries, who showed off every tool in his arsenal. He started his scoring with an and-one drive to the rim, then followed up with two different three-pointers afterwards. His scoring diversity was exactly what the Bucks wanted from their future starting 2 guard.
Burries also racked up 5 rebounds during his sparse playing time and drew a few fouls to wind up with 5 free throw attempts (he made 4 of them). He continued to show off his all-around excellence that we saw in the preseason, while also adding some efficiency in his jumpshot.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Burries' debut performance was his physicality and willingness to attack the rim. Those are simply elements that Green lacks in his game, since he's strictly a shooter at this point. Unlike Green, Burries had multiple drives to the rim and even opened up some opportunities when he missed, such as easier offensive rebounding chances for his teammates.
Green needs to expand his game or shoot more often
In comparison, Green had a much quieter game. He finished with 6 points on great efficiency (2-of-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point range). But Green wasn't aggressive enough to warrant a ton of minutes. For a shooter of his caliber, you'd really like to see more shot attempts over 15 minutes of play, even if they're falling in at a lower rate.
The Bucks were willing to waive other guards just to open up more minutes for the likes of Burries and Ryan Rollins. Green likely won't meet the same fate since he's such a great shooter, but he could find himself on the trade market pretty quickly.
If he wants to avoid that fate and keep his spot in the Milwaukee rotation, Green will need to be more aggressive. As Burries develops, it'll take great performances from other guards on the team to keep earning minutes over him. So far, Green has just continued to play his supporting role, which won't be enough with Burries nipping at his heels.
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