Retour
It took until the seventh game of the season for head coach Taylor Jenkins to make an adjustment to the starting lineup on Monday night and decided to start rookie guard Brayden Burries over Ryan Rollins against the Minnesota Timberwolves after a 1-5 start to the season.
Despite it being a memorable moment for the rookie, it was a rough night for him and his team as they the Bucks fell to the Timberwolves 112-100. Once again, it was Tyler Herro who led the way with 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals on 44.4% shooting from the field and 36.4% from the 3-point line.
It wasn't enough as LaMelo Ball had a big night for Minnesota to pick up the victory and as a result Milwaukee moves to 1-6 on the year. Here are the takeaways from a night that once looked promising.
It was exciting night Burries as he made his first career start, and as expected there looked to be some jitters to start off the game. He wasn't shy when it came to shooting the ball and being aggressive, but had a hard time converting them.
Burries led the team in the first half in shot attempts with 11, but only made three of them, including going 1-for-6 sixth from the 3-point line. He would finish the night with nine points and nine rebounds on 4-for-15 shooting (26.7%) from the field and 1-for-7 (14.3%) from the 3-point.
It obviously wasn't the night that he wanted in his first career start, especially from the 3-point line, but he started to have some success when he got inside the paint and attacked the basket. He took care of the ball, finishing the game with only one turnover, and after seeing Rollins have slightly more success off the bench , the decision to keep Burries in the lineup is a possibility moving forward.
I don't know where Minnesota would've been Monday night without the likes of Ball. When it was announced last Tuesday that superstar guard Anthony Edwards would be out at least two months after he would have to undergo an arthroscopic procedure, it was going to be up to Ball to pick up the slack.
It was one of the reasons why they traded for him during the offseason, and against the Bucks, he put the team on his back. In the first half alone, he recorded 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field and 5-for-9 from the 3-point line. Even with that stellar performance, the Timberwolves only led by one at halftime.
He finished the game with 34 points, six rebounds and three assists while shooting 12-for-21(57.1%) from the field and 6-for-13 (46.2%) from the 3-point line. And even though he cooled off in the second half, he put his team in a good position to get their rhythm in order to come away with the win.
Already a few times this season, Milwaukee played three quarters of solid basketball, before collapsing and letting the game get away them in the fourth quarter. Against Minnesota, it was the same story.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Bucks only trailed by four points, with the score at 76-80. The Timberwolves outscored Milwaukee 32-24, with Minnesota shooting 10-for-23 (43.5%) from the field and 4-for-12 (33.3%) from the 3-point line, while the Bucks shot 10-for-24 (41.7%) from the field and 2-for-9 (22.2% ) from the 3-point line.
While it doesn't seem like a drastic difference, the inability to knock down 3-pointers was once again a problem for Milwaukee that led to cold stretches on offense. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bucks allowed far too many offensive rebounds to the Timberwolves as they snagged nine in the quarter, which turned into 10 second-chance points.
Both teams didn't shoot the ball pariucalr well in the game, which gave Milwaukee a chance, but the offensove rebounds and fouls allowed Minnesota to pull away in the fourth quarter.