After hearing all of the chatter throughout the offseason about how the Milwaukee Bucks reached to select him 13th overall in the past NBA Draft, Nate Ament was bound to be fired up for the preseason to silence all the doubters. While the Bucks didn't win their exhibition against Minnesota, there were many positive takeaways, and Ament's performance was firmly among them.
Ament shows potential in opener
Sure, on paper, eight points and two rebounds hardly warrant significant attention in plenty of cases. Yet, with Ament, the raw rookie who was, in theory, an upside swing, showing the glimpses that he did in his first preseason game makes this performance all the more noteworthy. At the bare minimum, he offered some encouragement that he's on the right track early in his career.
The way in which Ament scored deserves attention. His first bucket was a corner 3-pointer off a pretty pass from AJ Green. While most rookies may have hesitated or passed it up, Ament didn't think twice before shooting and swishing it. Next, he snagged an offensive rebound in traffic and scored on the second-chance opportunity despite contact, finishing the play with an and-one chance.
The scoring was the clear highlight, but Ament's feel for the game also stood out from a broader view. He looked solid defensively, using his height and length to his advantage. On the glass, as mentioned with his offensive board, he battled down low despite not being the sturdiest forward. He looked like a player who has been working extremely hard through camp to sharpen his game, and it showed.
Confidence is the perfect one word to describe his outing. He wasn't shy about anything, letting it be known that he can help in a variety of ways. That's the best way to make a statement.
Ament has only scratched the surface
The forward wasn't perfect, as he had a few lapses here and there, but the early returns are extremely encouraging. Caris LeVert recently talked about how he thinks Ament will surprise some people with his play, and it didn't take long for that prediction to come true. If he keeps putting in that work behind the scenes while playing actual minutes, he's only going to keep getting better.
He should firmly be in Taylor Jenkins' rotation throughout the rest of the preseason, even if it means taking minutes from Kyle Kuzma, who was a dud in the opener. If Ament keeps hitting shots, fighting for boards, and disrupting opponents defensively, it will be hard to keep him out of the rotation for long once the real NBA season gets going.
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