One of the Milwaukee Bucks' goals for this season is to increase the number of 3-point shots they take. Jon Horst spoke to Eric Nehm of The Athletic (subscription required) and spoke about the desire for the Bucks to shoot even more from the perimeter after leading the league in 3-point efficiency. This has made Doc Rivers' lineup headache simple: start both Gary Trent Jr. and AJ Green.
Trent and Green starting could be the way forward for the Bucks
Both guards had a very strong season in Milwaukee. Trent arrived on a bargain deal and went on to average 11.1 points on shooting splits of .431/.416/.848, then signed another team-friendly contract to remain in Wisconsin. Green averaged 7.4 points on shooting splits of .429/.427/.815. Both players featured heavily from the bench, but showed in the postseason that they were key to any offense the Milwaukee Bucks will produce with Damian Lillard no longer on the roster.
Horst and the front office have always looked to surround Giannis Antetokounmpo with 3-point shooting, and the same formula looks set to continue in the 2025-26 season. Milwaukee ranked 18th in attempts per game last season and shot their lowest attempts per game post-Jason Kidd. With Lillard leading the team in attempts, other players will now be expected to step up and hopefully push the Milwaukee Bucks into the top-10 in attempts.
Trent and Green are two of the first names that will be expected to add even further 3-point shooting. Trent was second on the team with 5.9 per game, and Green averaged five attempts per game. Both players averaged less than 26 minutes per game, so starting them together would, of course, see those numbers increase further.
Trent and Green both can be solid defenders on the perimeter, but one concern with the duo starting would be the size at the wing position. Opposing teams will see that and look to take advantage of the pair. Kyle Kuzma is the first name to consider starting at small forward, but his underwhelming performances and lack of comfort taking 3-point shots could impact Rivers' decision. Taurean Prince started for the majority of the regular season, and despite shooting 43.9 percent from deep, his play dipped off late in the season, too.
Training camp starts in just a few days, so we may start to see answers to these questions. However, the likelihood is that the Bucks will be trying various lineups early on to see what works best. A huge positive for the upcoming season is the versatility across the roster for Rivers to take advantage of.