Four out of the Milwaukee Bucks’ starting five is already locked in. Newcomer Damian Lillard will take over for Jrue Holiday as the starting point guard, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez will resume their roles in the frontcourt.
The big question for Milwaukee, however, is the starting two guard.
Who Will Start at Shooting Guard for Milwaukee Bucks?
Raphille Johnson of NBC Sports recently listed the most intriguing positional battles around the league ahead of the new season. Among the seven he discussed, one of them happens to be the starting shooting guard race for the Bucks.
As pointed out by Johnson, three players are currently in a tight battle to win a starting spot for new head coach Adrian Griffin. This comes in the form of veteran sharpshooter Pat Connaughton, free agency recruit Malik Beasley, and incoming second-year stud MarJon Beauchamp.
Johnson believes that Connaughton, who started 33 games for Milwaukee last season, has a legitimate path to get the starting shooting guard spot this coming season. Beasley, however, who finished last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, should give him a run for his money:
“Connaughton produced modest averages of 7.6 points and 1.8 3-pointers per game in 2022-23, but he shot just 39.2% from the field. As for Beasley, in 81 games for the Jazz and Lakers, he averaged 12.7 points and 2.9 3-pointers per game. While he also shot below 40% from the field, Beasley was the better 3-point shooter by nearly three percentage points,” Johnson wrote.
The Young Gun
Let’s not forget about 22-year-old MarJon Beauchamp, who is arguably the most promising young talent on Milwaukee’s current roster. Admittedly, Beauchamp is the dark horse in this race, given how the Bucks will surely prioritize winning as many games as possible as opposed to developing their youth.
Nevertheless, we can’t count Milwaukee’s 2023 first-round pick. It’s possible that he took a major leap entering his sophomore year, and while he didn’t really get enough chances under former coach Mike Budenholzer, this could all change with Griffin now sitting at the helm.
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