Milwaukee Bucks open with impressive road win; 3 takeaways

1. Pat Connaughton was huge

Heading into the season, there’s been plenty of speculation surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks’ guard picture. With so many moving parts in the backcourt this offseason, nothing was set in stone aside from Eric Bledsoe and Wesley Matthews starting at point guard and shooting guard. While the cement is still wet, it looks like Pat Connaughton is campaigning for serious minutes.

The fifth-year guard from Notre Dame started off his second season with the Bucks in epic fashion. Connaughton scored all 10 of his points in the second quarter and those 10 points were all scored in succession for Milwaukee. Without the heroics of Connaughton to keep his team at least somewhat in the game that quarter, things may have gotten uglier than they already were.

In addition to his 10 points, Connaughton also hauled in four rebounds, recorded a pair of assists and even blocked a shot. At 6-foot-4 and weighing in around 209 pounds, size isn’t necessarily working in Connaughton’s favor. He made the most of his minutes on Thursday evening and performed well when called upon.

This development is huge for both Connaughton and the Bucks. If he can become a reliable contributor off the bench, that will take some pressure off the rest of the guards. On the other hand, as the depth chart takes shape, increased minutes for the 26-year-old means someone else is getting the short end of the stick.

This situation will be worth monitoring over the next few weeks.