In the Milwaukee Bucks' preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night, the Bucks have some big decisions about their bench rotation.
So far, through the first three preseason games, head coach Taylor Jenkins has split his lineups and rotations to get most of his players on the court before and can evaluate his roster before their season begins on Oct. 21 against the Washington Wizards.
The starting lineup has stayed mostly the same as Kyle Kuzma and Kel'el Ware swapped at the power forward spot against the Oklahoma City Thunder last Wednesday, but the drastic difference comes at the bench.
In their first game against the Minnesota Timberwolves , the bench was mainly filled with veterans and familiar faces such as Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green and Caris LeVert. Those four players in particular got majority of the playing time off the bench, and combined for 24 points, on 6-for-25 (24%) shooting from the field and 5-for-15 (33.3%) from the 3-point line.
Not the best in terms of efficiency, but with a lot of new pieces and it being the first competitive game against an actual opponent, you don't want to overreact for those group of guys. However, it wasn't the best showing from the veteran unit. Jenkins also mixed some of the younger guys like rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament, who got their first real taste of NBA action as they combined for 15 points while shooting 5-for-14 (35.7%) from the field and 2-for-4 (50%) from the 3-point line.
Definitely a solid showing from the two first-round picks in their debut. There were some players like Ousmane Dieng and Kasparas Jakuionis who did not play in that first game but go their chance in the next one against the Thunder. Porter, Trent, Green and LeVert took a seat and it was time for other guys to show what they could do such as Dieng, Jakuionis, Burries and Ament with more minutes.
It was a high scoring, close win for the Bucks and the four youngsters combined for 37 points on 12-for-34 (35.3%) shooting from the field and 2-for-13 (15.4%) from the 3-point line. Ament only played nine minutes in that game as exited the game early after a minor ankle injury. The efficiency was also not great, but the overall production was better and even combined for 13 assists off the bench.
Jenkins turned back to the rotation he played against the Timberwolves on Sunday, and it wasn't a good showing as scored 12 points and shot 3-for-22 (13.6%) from the field and 2-for-11 (18.2%) from the 3-point line. That's now two performances where this group of role players scored less than 30 points and shot below 30% from the field.
As Milwaukee tries to figure out what the rotation should be for this season, the difference in production should be noted. Jenkins is also a coach who likes depth and will play around 10-11 players in his rotation.
With both units getting a chance, I think the rotation should play out like this:
Oct 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Brayden Burries (0) drives around Oklahoma City Thunder guard Anthony Pritchard (30) during the second half of a preseason game at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Burries, Dieng, Ament and Jericho Sims will be be key pieces to the rotation. Burries and Ament are rookies, and their development is essential to the franchise. Burries can play both guard spots, create for himself and others, and is a versatile defender. Ament has the size and skill set to also contribute on both ends of the floor and has showed improvements in his efficiency, but might have to wait a little.
Sims is your classic athletic bruiser who provides a nice spark off the bench and will be needed to clean the glass this season if Jenkins decides to run the double-big lineup of Ware and Turner, while also getting easy baskets on the offensive side.
I think Dieng should get a lot more of playing time , as he's another player who can create his own shot, but also get others involved as he did against Oklahoma City where he had seven assists off the bench. I believe we will see Ware and Kuzma fluctuate throughout the season swapping from the bench to starting the lineup and both will play consistently,
The real conundrum comes at the guard sport with especially with Porter and Jakuionis. Porter is the shot creator and will always look for his shot, but will also find others while on the court. When the Bucks need a spark and need someone to score then I would expect Porter to be the first point guard off the bench.
As for Jakuionis he's more of the traditional point guard who facilitates and play makes, but can also get his shot within the offense. He can play aside Porter as well, but with Burries also on the team, there has to be minutes for him as well. Having a top-10 pick on the roster, his development should be a top priority, and with Jakuionis only being 20 years old, he still needs time to development himself.
Then you have Green and Trent who will be used as three-and-D players to space the floor while LeVert might be burried in the rotation but will look for his shot when steps on the court.
That's the problem with having a lot of depth, there's only so many minutes to go around. I think a lot of Jenkins' decisions will depend on the situation and who has the hot hand.
With the Bucks next game taking place on Wednesday where they face the Chicago Bulls, Jenkins will proably go with the young core once again to see what they can do in their second opporuntinty. If that group once again produces better than the veterans, then Jenkins will have a tough decision to make with the NBA season around the conrer.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/bucks/onsi as How the Bucks bench rotation should shake out .
