There was an opportunity for the Milwaukee Bucks to start the season off 1-0 in their game against the Washington Wizards, but they couldn’t hold on in the end, losing 128-116. Milwaukee led 53% of the game while Washington led for only 39%, mostly coming in the fourth quarter.
Milwaukee was led by two players who were acquired from the Miami Heat, Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez, who combined for 46 points on 17-for-33 (51.5%) shooting from the field and 5-for-14 (35.7%) from the 3-point line. The two looked comfortable in their first regular-season game, especially Jaquez, and put the team in a position to get a win.
However, the rest of the starters didn’t have the same production, with Kyle Kuzma, Myles Turner and Ryan Rollins only combining for 25 points while shooting 10-for-30 (33.3%) from the field. One player who had higher expectations heading into this season was Rollins. He came off a year where he averaged 17.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 47.2% from the field and 40.6% from the 3-point line.
He was a potential breakout candidate for the Bucks with the departure of Giannis Antetokounmpo and looked to carry the momentum into this season. Unfortunately for Rollins, he didn’t get off to a hot start as he recorded nine points, six rebounds and three assists on 4-for-14 (28.5%) shooting from the field and 1-for-5 (20%) from the 3-point line.
Rollins looked to potentially be the second option on this team or at least the third, but couldn’t get anything going against the Wizards and could’ve used some more production from him.
Meanwhile, with a quiet night of Rollins, two names emerged from the bench and produced efficiently. After guard Kevin Porter Jr. was waived just a few days before the start of the season, the roles of Brayden Burries and Kasparas Jakučionis were increased, and they were going to be key contributors in the rotation.
The rookie and the sophomore both saw the floor in the first game of the season and proved they were ready for the responsibility. Jakučionis played 26 minutes and recorded 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and one block while shooting 4-for-7 (57.1%) from the field. With the ball in his hands, he initiated the offense, getting other players involved while also attacking downhill, which led to layups or trips to the free-throw line where he went 6-for-6.
Off the ball, he was cutting to open spaces and penetrating the defense, getting put-back layups and knocking down a 3-pointer. He made a real impact when he was on the court and looked more than capable of being the backup point guard.
Burries also looked productive in his 16 minutes from his NBA debut, finishing the game with 12 points and five rebounds while shooting 3-for-6 (50%) from the field and 2-for-2 from the 3-point line.
Like Jakučionis, Burries looked to attack the basket and earned a handful of trips to the free-throw line where he shot 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. One positive sight he displayed against Washington was his 3-point shooting. Burries struggled in the preseason and only shot 2-for-17 (11.7%) from beyond the arc, but made both of his attempts.
One came off a catch-and-shoot opportunity assisted by Jakučionis, and the other was him taking it off the dribble and knocking down a step-back attempt with a defender in his face. Burries always looked confident during the preseason and summer league, and it continues to carry over in the NBA regular season.
On a night where Rollins struggled, Burries and Jakučionis stepped up when their numbers were called.
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