Gary Trent Jr.'s injury and 4 other takeaways from Bucks' preseason loss to Pistons

Bucks "rotation hopefuls" didn't impress whatsoever

MarJon Beauchamp, AJ Green, Andre Jackson Jr. and Chris Livingston are all young players fighting to prove they have a place in this Milwaukee Bucks rotation in 2024-25. None of them did anything to raise their stock in this game, as there was unquestionably some rust on display.

In 18 minutes, Jackson had two points and three turnovers on 1-of-6 shooting. In 17 minutes, Green had just three points on 1-of-5 shooting. In 14 minutes, Beauchamp shot 0-of-4 with two personal fouls and a turnover. In 12 minutes, Livingston had zero points, missing all three of his shot attempts while logging three turnovers. It was ugly across the board.

Entering the preseason, it felt like AJ Green was the young Buck likeliest to earn a spot in the rotation, but this competition is still wide open. Given that everyone here is a second or third-year player, it will be interesting to see how they respond throughout the rest of the preseason. They all have a chance to boost their individual stock in hopes of minutes, but they failed to do so in this opening game.

With all four players getting decent burn off the bench, Rivers clearly wanted to get a good look at all of them to see how they'd perform, and that will likely continue throughout the preseason.