The Bucks arrive in Philadelphia looking like a different team, and not just because Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis are in Miami. Four former Heat players have already been folded into Milwaukee’s rotation, Taylor Jenkins is now the head coach after replacing Doc Rivers, and the Bucks have stumbled out of the gate with losses to Washington and Chicago.
That leaves the Sixers with a fresh scouting report and a clear opening heading into Saturday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena, where Philadelphia will try to move to 3-0 while Milwaukee finishes a back-to-back after its home opener Friday. The Bucks are only two games into this new season, so the sample is tiny. Still, the early numbers tell a story.
The biggest one starts with Milwaukee’s offense. Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jakučionis have combined for 139 of the Bucks’ 241 points.
That means the four players acquired from Miami in the Antetokounmpo trade have produced 57.7 percent of Milwaukee’s scoring. Philadelphia’s offseason additions, by comparison, have scored 45 percent of the Sixers’ points.
Herro already has 58 points and leads Milwaukee in scoring and assists. Jaquez has 41, while Jakučionis and Ware have combined for 40 off the bench.
Herro and Jaquez have started both games with Ryan Rollins, Kyle Kuzma and Myles Turner, while Jakučionis and Ware have become regular pieces of Jenkins’ rotation. Jaquez is averaging 20.5 points and nine rebounds.
Right now, the former Heat group is the center of Milwaukee’s offense.
The Bucks’ bigger problem has been on the other end. Through two games, they are allowing 123.9 points per 100 possessions, which ranked as the NBA’s second-worst defensive rating entering Saturday. They’ve given up 130 points per game even though opponents are shooting only 18 for 73 from three-point range, the fourth-lowest opponent three-point rate in the league.
Washington and Chicago only made 24.7 percent of their threes against Milwaukee, yet the Bucks still find themselves in a hole. They have shot 39.1 percent from deep themselves and made 16 more three-pointers than their opponents, creating a 48-point edge from beyond the arc. Even with that cushion, they’ve still been outscored by 19 points.
The damage has come closer to the rim and at the line. Milwaukee is allowing 66 paint points per game, the worst mark in the NBA through two games. The Wizards scored 70 paint points in the opener, then the Bulls followed with a 62-44 advantage Friday, leaving the Bucks at minus-38 in the paint.
That lines up neatly with what Philadelphia just did in its comeback against Cleveland. The Sixers scored 69 points in the second half Thursday, and 36 of them came in the paint.
They also went 18 for 22 at the foul line and committed only two turnovers, all while making just three of 13 shots from three-point range. They didn’t need a scorching shooting night.
They got downhill, protected the ball and earned free throws.
That’s a bad matchup for a Milwaukee team that has already been bruised at the stripe. Washington and Chicago attempted 71 free throws against the Bucks.
Milwaukee committed 32 fouls against the Wizards, who went 32 for 41 from the line, then added 27 more fouls Friday as Chicago made 28 of 30 free throws. The Bucks have been outscored 60-33 at the foul line, have allowed 22 more attempts and have made just 67.3 percent of their own free throws.
Philadelphia has taken 57 free throws in its first two games, including 22 in the second half of its comeback against Cleveland. That kind of pressure could matter again if the Sixers get the ball into the lane and avoid the turnover issues they had in the first half Thursday.
The interior matchup is especially interesting because of the way Milwaukee is built. Turner is starting, Ware is coming off the bench, and both are 7-footers.
That size hasn’t stopped opponents from repeatedly getting into the paint. On the Sixers’ side, Maxey, Brown and James all give Philadelphia ways to attack off the dribble, and Embiid adds another interior challenge if the Sixers can get him the ball cleanly.
Milwaukee’s first two games have also leaned heavily on its younger players. The Bucks gave first- and second-year players just 318 minutes during the entire 2025-26 season, the lowest total in the NBA.
Every other team gave that group more than 1,300 minutes. Already, Milwaukee has handed out 72 minutes and 48 seconds to first- and second-year players through two games.
Jakučionis has played 48:56, and rookie guard Brayden Burries has logged 23:52. They are the only Bucks in their first two seasons to get on the floor so far. Their combined workload already equals 22.9 percent of Milwaukee’s full-season total from last year, a sign of how much this roster has changed in a short time.
Whether that usage keeps up over 82 games is another matter. For now, it simply underscores how different the Bucks look - and where Philadelphia should be aiming. The clearest path is still the same one the Sixers used Thursday: get inside, draw fouls and force a defense that has already been leaking points in the paint and at the line.
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