The Milwaukee Bucks' Jae Crowder experiment never panned out, so it made sense when they let him walk out the door this past free agency.
To replace him, the Bucks brought in Taurean Prince, another veteran known for his 3-and-D prowess, via a minimum deal. While he's been through his hot and cold streaks, Prince has undoubtedly been a significant upgrade over Crowder, and it was on full display in Milwaukee's most recent matchup with the Sacramento Kings, who currently employ Crowder.
Taurean Prince has been a key cog for the Milwaukee Bucks
With Khris Middleton still working his way back from his bilateral ankle issues, Prince has filled in for the Milwaukee Bucks as a starter. While he doesn't offer the same scoring threat, Prince has shown his worth in the role, and though he didn't tally a triple-double like Giannis Antetokounmpo or pour in 21 points like Brook Lopez, Prince's fingerprints were all over this game against Sacramento.
In just under 23 minutes, Prince finished with nine points, five rebounds and three assists, doing a bit of everything. The most impressive part of his night was his perimeter shooting, as he sunk three of his four tries, but his passing, which is certainly not a prominent part of his game, also turned heads, as he did a great job of finding teammates.
If there was anything to complain about with Prince's performance, it's that he did register four fouls. Yet, when a player is a +26, the second-highest on the entire squad, it's tough to find too many gripes.
Meanwhile, Crowder logged just over two-and-a-half minutes and did not record a single stat against his former squad, failing to make an impact in his limited minutes.
Taurean Prince has simply filled the role of Swiss Army Knife veteran forward better than Crowder did during his time with the Milwaukee Bucks, and games like this showcase why. Given how much capital they gave up to get him, everyone wishes things would have worked out better with Crowder and the Milwaukee Bucks, but it's all in the past now.
Milwaukee's sweet-shooting forward wasn't alone in helping propel the Bucks to a commanding win, as Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, while Damian Lillard was in a great groove with 24 points. Yet, Prince's contributions were meaningful as he continued to thrive as a complementary piece in the Milwaukee Bucks starting five.
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