Milwaukee Bucks: 5 takeaways from the first 5 games

4. Mike Budenholzer’s questionable rotations

To begin the season, we’ve seen Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer experiment with various different lineups on the floor and mixing up the rotations game by game. To an extent, some of the rotations have been surprising.

Lately, Thanasis Antetokounmpo has become integrated into the second unit and was one of the first few guys off the bench during the back-to-back meetings against the Miami Heat. We all know the main reason why Thanasis is on the team in the first place, but to his credit, he brought energy and a great sense of intensity when given the opportunity. He didn’t play too bad, but it was still shocking to see him come off the bench in favor of D.J. Wilson and even rookie Jordan Nwora.

Another questionable decision from Budenholzer that needs to be addressed is the minutes and role of Pat Connaughton. It was completely mind-boggling to see Connaughton receive 23 minutes on opening night against the Boston Celtics, and even more blasphemous to see him guard Jayson Tatum during crunch time. There seems to be an unbreakable bond between Bud and his trust in him, but there’s no way that Pat Connaughton should be closing out games, guarding a team’s best player, or receiving over 20 minutes in a game.

5. Chemistry steadily developing for the Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks have plenty of new additions to the roster this season, so the chemistry seems to slowly be progressing at the moment.

Jrue Holiday has fit in perfectly to Milwaukee’s schemes and looks like he’s one of the guys that’s quickly building chemistry with the squad, especially with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the starters. It’ll be important for Milwaukee’s new star point guard to increase and maximize that sense of togetherness over time.

The Bucks also have an almost entirely new bench, so it was expected for the supporting cast to have chemistry issues early on and that’s exactly what appears to be the case. Bobby Portis, D.J. Augustin, and Bryn Forbes have been key contributors within the second unit, but they all still seem to be settling in with the team, the city of Milwaukee, and a new system. Perhaps Torrey Craig, Jordan Nwora, and Sam Merrill are as well.

Depth has been a strength for the Milwaukee Bucks in past years, and it should be once again as the chemistry between the reconstructed roster continues to increase.