The Cavaliers walk into Milwaukee on Halloween night with a chance to take care of business against a Bucks team still sorting through life after the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade to Miami this summer. Cleveland is coming off a tight loss in Atlanta on Thursday, and this trip opens the first Central Division meeting of the season.
For the Cavs, the timing makes this one feel especially important. After Milwaukee, the schedule turns into a tough stretch: back-to-back games against the injured but still dangerous Oklahoma City Thunder, first in Cleveland and then in OKC, followed by a home back-to-back against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday and the reigning champion New York Knicks on Saturday in an Eastern Conference Finals rematch.
Milwaukee has been piecing together a new identity, and there’s a clear resemblance to the kind of reset Cleveland lived through in 2010 and 2018 after LeBron James left in free agency. The Bucks did bring back some interesting talent from Miami, though, and Tyler Herro has been the headliner. The former All-Star guard is averaging 23.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 47% from three.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. has also given them a scoring boost. The Sixth Man of the Year runner-up is putting up 17.8 points and 7.2 rebounds, and he’s shot better than 50% in four of Milwaukee’s five games.
Beyond those two, the roster is a mix of young pieces and veterans, with Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma starting in the frontcourt. Off the bench, the Bucks are also leaning on Kasparas Jakucionis and Ke’lel Ware, another pair of arrivals from Miami.
Their two lottery picks, Brayden Burries and Nate Ament, have only seen limited run so far, but that should change as the season goes on.
The results have been rough early. Milwaukee has only one win in its first five games, and the numbers back up the struggles: fourth worst defense and sixth worst offense.
Even so, the Bucks still have enough shooters to make life uncomfortable, with Herro, Kuzma, A.J. Green and others capable of catching fire from deep.
Cleveland can’t afford to coast through possessions here.
At the same time, this is the kind of game where the Cavaliers should have chances to build a lead and manage minutes. The issue is that they haven’t always finished the job cleanly. They’ve already shown that in Philadelphia and at home against Brooklyn, where big advantages still turned into shaky endings.
That also opens the door for Cleveland’s deeper rotation pieces. Meleek Thomas, Tyrese Proctor and Craig Porter Jr. could all get opportunities to make an impression, and Porter in particular could use a night that helps him find some rhythm after struggling in limited minutes through the first five games.
So the assignment is straightforward: handle the rebuilding Bucks, avoid a letdown, and leave Milwaukee with the kind of win that keeps this road trip from getting complicated fast.
Cleveland Cavaliers - James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Milwaukee Bucks - Ryan Rollins, Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kyle Kuzma, Myles Turner
In Other News...
Bucks Suddenly Face A Tough Jaime Jaquez Jr Decision
Jaime Jaquez Jr. has quietly become one of the more interesting names in the Bucks orbit, and not just because of what he has done on the floor. His production and team-friendly contract make him the kind of player front offices like to keep around, which is exactly why any talk of moving him has to be weighed carefully. For Milwaukee, the appeal is obvious: he is useful now and still has room to grow, a combination that usually makes a player harder to pry loose than his profile might suggest.
Still, the speculation keeps circling because Oklahoma City has the kind of assets and roster flexibility that can turn a theoretical deal into a real conversation. The Thunder need help on the perimeter after injuries thinned that part of the roster, and they also have the draft-pick stockpile to chase a player like Jaquez if they decide he is worth the push. For the Bucks, the question is whether a strong young contributor is the sort of piece they can afford to discuss at all, even in a deal that remains firmly in the realm of analysis for now. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Herro Is Giving Bucks Fans One Real Reason For Hope
Through the Bucks first five games, Tyler Herro has been one of the clearest bright spots in an otherwise rough start. He has given Milwaukee a steady scoring punch, filling up the box score with points, rebounds and assists while also knocking down threes at a sharp clip, the kind of production that can keep an offense afloat even when the results are not there yet.
What stands out even more is how efficiently Herro has done it, especially as a pull-up shooter. Among high-volume players taking those shots, he has been the NBAs most efficient, and that matters for a Bucks team still searching for rhythm and answers after opening the year 1-4. Even in a small sample, his play has offered a real reason for optimism, and a reminder that Milwaukee may already have one dependable weapon it can build around. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks May Have A New Answer To Their Playmaking Problem
The Bucks have spent much of this season searching for a cleaner answer in the half court, and the passing numbers have reflected it. Milwaukee sits last in passes per game, a drop-off made sharper by the recent waiver of Kevin Porter Jr., who led the team in that category a year ago. Into that opening has stepped Kasparas Jakucionis, whose willingness to move the ball has given the offense a different rhythm and at least some needed relief.
Jakucionis is averaging 35.2 passes and 4.2 assists per game, production that has made him look like more than just a developmental piece in the deal that brought him to Milwaukee in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. The Bucks still need more from the perimeter to fully unlock what he can do, but his passing has already become a meaningful part of the offense, and it offers a glimpse of a possible long-term fix if the shot comes along. [Read more 🡒]