Bucks feature triple threat off the bench
The Milwaukee Bucks will go as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker go. That's a given considering Antetokounmpo is filling the stat sheet on a nightly basis and the pair of young stars has combined to carry about 40% of the scoring load through 20 games.
As important as those two are, though, the Bucks have needed other contributions to put together an 11-9 record heading into Friday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. That support has come consistently from Milwaukee's bench, which ranks in the top 10 among NBA bench units in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
When the Bucks' bench has performed well, it's usually been because of contributions from center Greg Monroe, forward Michael Beasley and guard Malcolm Brogdon. Milwaukee has gotten good outputs from other bench players, such as Mirza Teletovic and Jason Terry, but their influence has paled in comparison to what Monroe, Brogdon and Beasley provide on a regular basis.
It's not difficult to find an example of what that three-man crew can do, with each member of the trio making a major impact during Wednesday's win over Portland.
"You talk about our bench, it's great," coach Jason Kidd said. "You talk about Beas and Moose and Malcolm playing at a very high level, our bench is like that — I think they had 40 points tonight — it makes the game a lot easier for everybody."
Since a four-game stint in mid-November when he hardly got off the bench, Monroe has been a steady influence for the Bucks. Over the past seven games, he's averaged 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds while playing with energy at both ends. Not known for his defense, Monroe has been more than adequate this year, leading all NBA centers in steals per 36 minutes with 2.6.
Monroe, who had 15 points, four rebounds and three steals against the Trail Blazers, drew praise from Kidd for the way he helped defensively on the perimeter against Portland's dangerous backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
"We asked Moose tonight to play on the perimeter because we knew those two guards were going to put a lot of heat on our guards guarding them and so he did a good job being up and making them get off the ball or contesting their shots," Kidd said. "I thought Moose was off the charts both offensively and defensively."
Brogdon, who has settled into the backup point guard role, has gone through some rookie ups and downs but has had fewer bumps on a nightly basis than might be expected of a rookie second-round pick. On Wednesday he split time almost equally with starter Matthew Dellavedova and made multiple impact plays, especially in the fourth quarter.
A streaky but reliable three-point shooter at 37.5% entering Wednesday, Brogdon swished three triples against the Blazers over the first three quarters to improve to 18 for 43 (41.9%) from long range. Early in the fourth, Brogdon, who spent time guarding both Lillard and McCollum and generally did so with aplomb, nabbed a pair of steals to help the Bucks build a cushion.
"I love the challenge," said Brogdon, who had 13 points, three assists and two steals. "That's actually my favorite thing on the court is to defend and to defend the best. Guarding some of the best players in the world is right up my alley every night."
Beasley had the best plus-minus mark (plus-14) of anyone who took the court Wednesday night, just ahead of Monroe (plus-11) and Brogdon (plus-7). He contributed 12 points, including five in the fourth quarter, while pulling down eight rebounds. One year removed from playing in China, he's found his footing with the Bucks and has become one of their most consistent options — off the bench or otherwise.
He is averaging 8.6 points while playing in all 20 games.
"Beas has been Beas," Kidd said. "You talk about Malcolm being consistent; (Beasley's) been consistent for us off the bench."
The development of the bench has been a boon after the Bucks got very little from their reserves last season. One of the more impressive aspects of the change is none of the three main contributors had that role last season, with Monroe starting most games, Beasley playing overseas and Brogdon still playing in college at Virginia. Now, the three are anchoring one of the best units in the NBA, which will face a stiff test against the Hawks, a team that also boasts a highly efficient bench.
"We just like playing together," Brogdon said. "We know how each other plays, we know each other's strengths and weaknesses and we play towards each other and we play off of each other. I think we enjoy playing together, first and foremost, and then we try to bring energy every night we're on the court."