After a strong showing by the starting five, Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks picked up some momentum going into the regular season.
All five starters had nine or more points, including a 20-point outburst from Giannis Antetokounmpo and a 19-point, 10-rebound effort from Jabari Parker as the Bucks dispatched of the Indiana Pacers, 111-103, to close the preseason at 3-3.
Giannis tallied three 20-point performances in six preseason games. Jabari scored in double figures all six outings, and he tallied 18 or more points four times, and J-Kidd hopes his two young stars can continue to play well when the regular season begins.”
“They did a lot of good things,” Jason said. “You look at scoring the ball, defensively, being able to help out and rebound the ball, Jabari I thought did a great job with that. We need them to be consistent with the things they’ve done this preseason and in training camp for us to have a chance to win.”
Milwaukee closed the preseason with by far its best offensive outing, shooting 48.1 percent as a team. Jason credited the strong play of point guard Matthew Dellavedova, who went for nine points and seven assists, for keeping the offense humming.
“He’s making a lot of the right reads, getting guys some easy shots,” Jason said. “He understands how to play the game the right way, so with his performance tonight, playing 25 minutes, just being Delly, his fingerprints were all over that game.”
Through the positive finale, Jason saw some points for improvement, particularly in the third quarter. But overall, Jason is pleased with the way his team looks going into the regular season.
“The third quarter, we gave up 33 points. That’s something we have to talk and get better at, but the guys kept playing. As much as we gave up we also scored. There were a lot of good things to end preseason, and now it’s for us to start preparing for the season, and for Charlotte.”
The Bucks open the regular season at home, Wed., Oct. 26 against the Charlotte Hornets at 7 p.m. CT.
