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The Milwaukee Bucks are here to defend their NBA title. Less than three months after winning their first NBA championship in 50 years, the Bucks have started their title defense by opening their 2021-22 preseason campaign. They started off by playing their arch rivals the Brooklyn Nets in their opening preseason contest on Friday night (October 8), after which they played the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night (October 10).
While the Bucks put forth their reserves in the contest against the Nets, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday all played in the game against the Thunder. Even though the Nets had Kevin Durant, James Harden, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge play for them, the Bucks' bench players put forward a good fight, the game finishing with a narrow 119-115 victory for Brooklyn. The contest against the Thunder was a blowout win for Milwaukee as they trounced their opponents 130-110. With two games in the bag, here are three quick things we learned from the Milwaukee Bucks’ preseason so far.
#1 Jordan Nwora of the Milwaukee Bucks can ball
Second-year NBA player Jordan Nwora of the Milwaukee Bucks can play. Although Nwora averaged just 9.1 mpg in 30 outings for the Bucks in their 2020-21 campaign, the 23-year-old, 2020 second-round draft pick really lit up the floor in the Bucks’ opening game against the Nets.
Nwora had 30 points and eight rebounds in the contest. He went six-of-10 from downtown and even drew the great Kevin Durant on one defensive switch. If one thought the opening game performance was a fluke, Nwora followed it up by contributing 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists in just 20 minutes while coming off the bench against the Thunder. He shot 50.0% (three-of-six) from downtown in that game.
These aren’t isolated showings by Nwora. The Nigerian player dropped 33 points versus Germany and 20 points versus Italy in the 2021 Olympic games in Tokyo. He also had 30 points in his Summer League debut. If the forward can continue contributing like this, he could be a vital reserve for the Milwaukee Bucks in their 2021-22 campaign.
#2 Elijah Bryant is repaying the faith shown in him
Another second-year player, Elijah Bryant, has also impressed for the Milwaukee Bucks in their two preseason games. Bryant, who averaged just 4.5 mpg in 11 appearances for the Bucks during their 2021 playoff run, added 21 points and eight rebounds against the Nets. He followed that up with 14 points, on four-of-six shooting from downtown, in the game against the Thunder.
Bryant signed with the Milwaukee Bucks just ten days before the 2021 playoffs began. At the time, he was playing in the Israeli League for Maccabi Tel Aviv. They even waived him ten days before the start of the pre-season on September 26, only to resign him on September 29. So far, Bryant is repaying the faith shown in him by the Milwaukee Bucks organization.
#3 Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday are back for Milwaukee
The three stars of the Milwaukee Bucks – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday – are back for the franchise. After sitting out the preseason opener versus the Nets, the Bucks’ superstar trio led the team’s dominant display against the Thunder. Giannis finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists; Middleton had 14 points from a perfect six-of-six shooting display from the field while Holiday had 11 points, on four-of-six shooting, and four assists for the Milwaukee Bucks. All three stars played an identical 17:26 minutes versus the Thunder.
Remember, Giannis claimed to have ankle soreness, an injury that kept him out of the Bucks’ last few games in their Conference Finals matchup versus the Atlanta Hawks, until very recently. During Bucks media day held at the end of last month, he spoke about the state of his knee, saying,
“I feel good. Obviously I gotta do my treatment like always, take care of my body and just manage it. There's no rush for me here. I'm good to go, but if I feel pain again or whatever the case might be, I have to listen to my body. When you feel pain, it's your body telling you. It's protecting you. You can't go anymore. I've played through pain. I don't think now is the time to risk that. It's too early in the season, but at the end of the day, I feel good physically, mentally. I'll do whatever I have to do to be 100 percent.”
Middleton and Holiday had to rush soon after winning Game 6 of the NBA Finals to bolster the Team USA squad for the Tokyo Olympics. Although the duo helped Team USA to finish the competition with a gold medal, Middleton and Holiday have had the least turnaround time among the Milwaukee Bucks’ players for the start of the 2021-2022 campaign. In that context, it would be heartening for Bucks’ fans to see their superstar trio back and healthy and firing on all cylinders before the NBA’s 75th season gets underway.
Also Check Out: Complete NBA TV Schedule for 2021-22 Season
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
