Basketball is back in Milwaukee, and the Bucks’ first preseason test ended with a 116-97 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It was also the first look at several new Bucks in game action, and the opening stretch was rough. Milwaukee came out flat, and the offense never really found a clean rhythm early. Ryan Rollins even took an elbow to the face that left him bleeding, another jolt in a first quarter that quickly got away from the Bucks.
The shooting numbers told the story. Milwaukee opened the game 6-for-28 from the field in the first quarter, a 21.4% start that made it hard to build anything. A big part of the issue was the shot mix: the Bucks leaned heavily on threes and didn’t get many easy looks at the rim.
They finished 4-for-18 from beyond the arc, good for 22.2%, and while the shots didn’t look wildly forced, it was easy to see the direction of the offense. That’s notable for a team that ranked No. 4 in the NBA in made threes, No. 10 in attempts and No. 2 in 3-point percentage last season. Milwaukee could be leaning right back into that identity.
The Timberwolves also made life miserable in transition, piling up easy chances and taking a 60-48 lead into halftime.
Head coach Taylor Jenkins didn’t sugarcoat what he saw afterward: "I would say definitely far from where we’re going to need to be," head coach Taylor Jenkins said in the postgame press conference. "It felt like our defense was really lacking for 48 minutes.
We had spurts of it. We had some good possessions, but too often, with no pressure on the ball, no shift was held.
They were getting downhill. They only scored 60 points in the paint.
We got to do a better job of guarding without fouling. Just a lack of communication.
So definitely not the competitive edge that we got to have. I know it's the first preseason game, but I said you know that's not going to be an excuse at all.
We’ve got to get better."
Even in a lopsided loss, there were some encouraging individual performances.
Rollins was one of the brighter spots before fouling out early in the third quarter. He finished with 15 points, four rebounds, one steal and one block, shooting 6-for-12 from the field.
Kel’el Ware also turned in a strong debut, posting 14 points, 12 rebounds and one block while going 5-for-11 from the floor.
Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr., both making their Bucks debuts after coming over from Miami, started slowly as well. Herro ended with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists on 3-for-9 shooting, including 2-for-4 from three. He settled in as the game went on, knocked down a couple of threes and helped get teammates involved.
Jaquez had a quieter night, shooting 2-for-7 and finishing with five points.
The Bucks also got their first preseason looks at rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament, and both made something of their opportunities.
Burries, who impressed during summer league, didn’t check in until late in the second quarter, but he made an impact right away. He had three points, two rebounds and two assists in just three first-half minutes, then finished with seven points, two rebounds, five assists and two steals in 17 minutes. He shot 3-for-10 from the field, but looked poised for a first-year player going against NBA competition.
Ament waited a little longer for his turn, then made the most of it. He hit his only 3-point attempt, handled the ball in transition and attacked the basket on his way to eight points and two rebounds on 2-for-4 shooting. For a rookie with efficiency questions coming into the draft, it was a promising start.
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