
Here we go again
And just like that, we’re back previewing another Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Hornets matchup, this one coming in the wake of Darvin Ham’s team’s 114-106 loss on Friday evening.
Where We’re At
Milwaukee tried to stage a furious late comeback against the Hornets behind 43 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo and a near triple double from Khris Middleton, but Charlotte made enough big shots against a few defensive miscues by the Bucks. Now, the good news is that this team won’t be playing on the second game of a back-to-back, so the rest should be even this time around. They also will have some slight reinforcements potentially incoming. Pat Connaughton, who has been in the health and safety protocols, is listed as questionable while Donte DiVincenzo isn’t listed at all. The latter comes as a surprise after it was expected his ankle roll could keep him out a few weeks. The Bucks will still be without Jrue Holiday, George Hill, Grayson Allen and Brook Lopez.
This time around, the Bucks will need to find an answer for Charlotte’s terrifying transition and fast break game, which feasted for 21 points off 15 Milwaukee turnovers. On top of that, the Hornet’s zone forced their offense to bog down when the ball wasn’t being funneled directly into Giannis within the gooey center of their coverage. Antetokounmpo started to find his groove late, and hopefully he’s able to do the same from tip this time around. Against one of the league’s worst defenses, they should be able to find more success even without many of their complementary pieces on the court. Defensively, they need to try and stay in front of their men better and prevent the Hornets from getting to and/or connecting passes to the paint. They outdid Milwaukee in the interior 46-36.
The Hornets just have to continue their same devastating pace and utilizing every ounce of their athleticism against a Bucks team that’s relying on plenty of players who’ve rarely had practice time together. Terry Rozier went for 28 on Friday with Bridges going for 21. Look for Kelly Oubre Jr. to stroke it better from deep after a 2-11 performance on Friday.
Player to Watch
Jordan Nwora has been thrust into a starting role by virtue of all the injuries, but he’s also found more confidence in the last 10-15 games after that truly awful stretch of constant turnovers and trying to do too much that wound up with him benched. He went just 1-11 on Friday, and the Bucks need him to bounce back with a finer shooting performance with most of their regulars absent.
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