Wednesday night's clash against the Denver Nuggets marked the first contest the Milwaukee Bucks would be without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard after their recent injuries surfaced.
With Nikola Jokic making his return to Denver's lineup and the Bucks missing their top two players, nobody gave Milwaukee much of a chance. However, to their credit, the injury-riddled Bucks did put up a good fight, clawing their way back into things after being down double digits early. They had an opportunity to steal this one, but the Nuggets were simply too much for them.
Despite a close match throughout, Denver pulled away late to secure a 127-117 victory. Despite the defeat, there was one rousing positive takeaway from this contest, and that involved AJ Green finally breaking out of his gruesome shooting slump. The loss stings, but this performance gives the Bucks at least something to be optimistic about.
Milwaukee Bucks wing AJ Green finally snaps his brutal slump
Over his last 10 games prior to the matchup with Denver, Green knocked down a mere 10 3-pointers, which was far below his typical level of production. Whether he was wide open or covered, it typically did not matter for Green, who could not consistently buy a bucket. It was starting to become a major detriment to the Milwaukee Bucks, raising questions about his reliability.
In one game, Green knocked down half of the triples he accounted for in his previous 10. The young wing finally broke out of his slump, shooting 5-of-9 from downtown to collect 15 points. He flexed his undeniable floor spacing capabilities, knocking down countless tough shots as the Milwaukee Bucks kept things close with Denver until the end.
This is the AJ Green the Milwaukee Bucks need, especially as they try to navigate not having their top two players for the time being. When he's hitting his shots at a respectable rate, it opens up the floor for all of his teammates, something this team desperately needs right now as everyone else has to step up and do more than they normally would.
Now, the key for Green will be sustaining this groove. Sometimes, all a shooter needs to do to break out of a slump is to see a few go through the net. That is certainly what the Milwaukee Bucks hope is the case for Green after the past few weeks he had.
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