Kasparas Jakucionis went 2-for-10 from the field in Milwaukee's blowout Summer League loss to the Heat after spending most of his 21 minutes looking like a player still (naturally) finding his rhythm. But notching six assists against his former team, in his first game as a Buck, painted a totally different story for Bucks fans excited about his development. Because it proves to us all that the court vision and playmaking are real, while everything else can be fixed.
Kasparas Jakucionis sent a rousing message in brutal Bucks debut
This writer argued earlier that when it's all said and done, Tyler Herro, now perhaps the best player on the Milwaukee Bucks roster, wasn't actually the most important part of the Bucks' return from the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. It was no less than Jakucionis himself.
One thing was clear throughout the game: if that jumper isn't falling, Jakucionis is still dishing out assists. And his playmaking is going to mean he's always going to be a valuable piece of the Bucks' offense, no matter how his scoring looks.
When a point guard's scoring goes cold, what you look for instead is exactly what Jakucionis showed: the ability to make the right read under pressure, find the open man in pick-and-roll situations, and to operate as a connector in an offense that doesn't yet have a clear identity. Six assists in 21 minutes is a rate of production that projects to roughly 16 assists per 36, which is obviously an absurd extrapolation from just one game, but a useful signal. And that's hopefusomething Taylor Jenkins and company will be able to maximize later on down the line.
A quick glance up and down the roster is proof enough of how important Jakucionis is going to be going forward. Tyler Herro is going to be a scorer first, Kel'el Ware is still developing his handle, and Brayden Burries is still a rookie who needs to get his reps in. The connective playmaking of a functional half-court offense is exactly what Jakucionis can be if his playmaking from Tuesday is anything close to the baseline. The floor is there, but the eventual ceiling could be what Milwaukee needs to contend again: the player who makes everyone else easier to play with.
Kasparas Jakucionis' unofficial Milwaukee Bucks debut is nothing to worry about
The shooting woes are worth monitoring but not panicking over. During his rookie campaign in Miami, Jakucionis shot 42.3 percent from beyond the arc, which should already give him at least some credibility as a competent floor spacer. What doesn't fluctuate as wildly as shooting percentages is feel for the game, and we already know the kid has the ability to read a defense two passes ahead, to thread a bounce pass through traffic, to understand where the ball needs to go before it gets there. That's the part of Jakucionis's game that showed up, and it's the part that doesn't disappear in October.
He's 20 years old, in his second NBA season, playing his first game for a new organization against his old one. The scoreboard was ugly, but the six assists weren't. For this writer, overall, Jakucionis passed his first test as a Buck. Hopefully he continues doing so as preseason hoops continue.
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