Bucks guard (hopefully) just stamped his place in the rotation for good

It was another devastating loss for the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night, falling to a 1-6 record after a second consecutive defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Losing again is not what any fan wants to see, but there were positives to come out of this one, with many of the young guys coming in and making an impact on the game. The Bucks were down 13 at the half to the unbeaten Cavs but managed to claw their way back in the third. Yet, they fell short in the fourth as the hosts ran out 116-114 winners.

The brightest spark for the Bucks was the first man off the bench, AJ Green. He finished with a brilliant 21 points and six rebounds. All of his shots came from 3-point range, and he hit 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) as he helped drag Milwaukee back into the game.

AJ Green must be a big part of the Bucks' rotation moving forward

What makes Green's performance even more staggering is he didn't feature in the loss to the Cavs on Saturday. Doc Rivers has been known to not trust the younger players, but on Monday night, he clearly leaned more on them with Giannis Antetokounmpo out.

Green played 34 minutes, Andre Jackson Jr. played 25 minutes and even two-way guard Ryan Rollins played six minutes. All three of them looked good and had a positive +/-.

Green has struggled to stamp his place on the rotation, with Rivers playing him over 10 minutes twice this season and less than five minutes on three occasions prior to his great performance against the Cavs. We know Green is a sharpshooter, and he is hitting 60 percent of his threes this season on a team that has struggled, shooting 35.4 percent as a team. Defensively, he has also progressed.

When the likes of Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr. are struggling from deep, Green stepping up is a huge plus for the Bucks, and now, he is bringing strong defense as well, so he is even more equipped to be a big factor in the rotation moving forward. Behind the frontcourt duo of Lopez and Bobby Portis, Green led the team with contested 3-point shots and was tied for in 2-point contests. That hustle is so badly needed for Milwaukee, and Green's hunger will aid the team.

The highlight of the performance involved the three young guys. Jackson climbed high to reject Sam Merrill, Rollins grabbed the board and Jackson then found a trailing Green, who pulled up for three from way beyond the arc. That is exactly what the Milwaukee Bucks have been missing. The speed, athleticism, youthful confidence and lack of fear are nothing but good attributes for Milwaukee, and Doc Rivers needs to lean on those players more.

Green was brilliant, and of course, he needs to provide more performances like his 21-point game, but he really showed he should be part of the rotation moving forward.

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