Gauging confidence meter on Milwaukee Bucks personnel before NBA Playoffs
Jae Crowder - 7
I am pretty confident in Jae Crowder being able to come into games and make an impact defensively. His size and ability to guard the wing positions will be of great use to the Bucks when they could face the likes of Jimmy Butler, DeMar DeRozan and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown of the Celtics. In this first series, he will likely take Siakam at times with Giannis out and Portis taking that starting role. Crowder may not be as tall, but he has the physicality and experience to make Siakam miss shots.
This season, he has hit 35 percent of his shots from deep, which is a career average .This does dip to 33.6 percent come postseason time, but his main focus will be defense first and then hitting shots when needed. Last season, he only averaged 10 minutes in the postseason for the Bucks, but for the Phoenix Suns during their 2021 run to the NBA Finals, he did average 33 minutes, so he has experience and has shown he can be impactful for a contending team.
Patrick Beverley - 8
Similar to Crowder, Beverley's role will be to bring defensive effort and energy, but now as a member of the starting lineup, having taken Beasley's spot. When he first arrived in Milwaukee, the impact he had was noticeable, and having settled differences with Lillard, they started to be a great backcourt of solid defense with elite offense. That duo will be key, with Beverley taking Haliburton and looking to slow his scoring and playmaking down, leaving Lillard to lead offensively.
With the Bucks, he is shooting 36 percent from deep, which is his average for the past three to four seasons, but his field goal percentage has dropped only slightly to 39 percent from a career 41 percent. In his last appearance in the playoffs with the Timberwolves in 2022, he averaged 11 points, and his overall shooting splits don't differ from career average to playoff average. Beverley's hustle and energy will be key for the team but also to get the crowd involved.
Pat Connaughton - 7
Pat Connaughton will be another bench piece that will need to bring that experience he has to aid the Bucks against whoever they face. This season has been the standard we expect from Connaughton, with him averaging 5.6 points with three rebounds and a couple assists on 43.5 percent shooting and 34.5 percent from deep.
Last postseason, he averaged 12 points and was at a ridiculous 47.8 percent shooting from deep, which is almost guaranteed to come down, but he has shown he can be impactful in the postseason and was a big part of the title-winning team. The slight worry I have for him is that with Green having a good season and Jackson Jr. showing glimpses that if Connaughton doesn't turn up, there are two young guys who are a specialist shooter and perimeter defender that will be desperate to leave an impact on the playoffs for the Milwaukee Bucks.