The Milwaukee Bucks did not start the 2024-25 NBA season the way that they, nor anyone else, expected them to. With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard together for a second season, many expected the Bucks to sprint out of the gate. And, indeed, Giannis and Lillard did have strong individual starts to the season.
Giannis averaged 31.6 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists through Milwaukee’s first 10 games. Lillard averaged 26.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists through the same span.
But the Bucks went 2-8, a dismal stretch that included a six-game losing streak and got the Giannis trade rumor mill running.
The Milwaukee Bucks Turned Their Season Around
In years past, Bucks head coaches may have let things remain status quo as they waited for the players to make adjustments. But not Doc Rivers.
To Rivers’ credit, he did not wait long to make some substantial changes to his starting lineup and bench rotation. Gary Trent Jr., who started the season as the starting shooting guard, was relegated to the bench when he started out cold this season. As it turned out, he was also battling a back injury that hampered his performance.
Before going to the bench, Trent was averaging 8.0 points per game and shooting 23.1% from three. His move to a reserve role happened after seven games. Due to his injury, he was severely limited in his first game off the bench, was inactive for two consecutive games after, and then limited in the fourth.
In his last seven games, though, Trent is averaging 11.4 points per game and shooting 53.7% from three.
To replace the sharpshooter in the starting lineup, Rivers has turned to dynamic player maker Andre Jackson Jr. AJ Green has also started a couple games. Both players bring big playmaking ability and defense to the starting lineup.
With Trent coming off of the bench and Jackson and Green getting more playing time, Rivers made the decision to bench reserve forward/guard Pat Connaughton.
The Milwaukee Bucks Are Undefeated When Pat Connaughton Does Not Play
In Milwaukee’s latest win, a 106-103 victory over the Miami Heat, Connaughton came off the bench to score 10 points, grab eight rebounds, and dish out an assist. He also had two blocks.
It was a significant performance because it was the first time he had played in a game for over a week. Rivers benched Connaughton after Milwaukee’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets on November 16.
Recently, Connaughton addressed his benching and how he has approached it. “I’ve always been a team-first guy and whatever I need to do to help the team win is what I’m going to try to do,” Connaughton said according to Sports Illustrated. “Winning has followed me where I’ve gone, or I’ve followed winning some people may say, but again at every level it’s kind of been there. I don’t think it always shows up on the statistics.
“It’s something that I have to remain confident and understand that we’ve got a great team and we’re trying to do some great things and we didn’t get out to the start of the year that we wanted to. Continue to be a professional with it but continue to understand that I’ve won a lot of games in my career at every level, but especially in the NBA, and I’ve won at the highest level and I know the things that I bring to the table will help us win more than they won’t.”
Bucks center agreed with Connaughton’s assessment of himself, saying, “He has one of the highest basketball IQs, if not the highest basketball IQ out there. He’s a great communicator, so he’s always great at getting everyone on the same page. He does so many intangible things that just make us better.”
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