Bucks’ Brown makes most of his chance
Milwaukee Bucks rookie guard Sterling Brown has done plenty of watching this season. Before Monday night, he had appeared in 13 of the Bucks’ 38 games, logging a total of 87 minutes.
With the Bucks down 23 points to the Indiana Pacers heading into the fourth quarter Monday night, Brown was part of the mostly bench unit that took the floor for the final period of what had otherwise been a dismal night for Milwaukee. Given the opportunity to play extended minutes — Brown’s 12 minutes marked his second time playing more than 10 minutes — the rookie second-round pick gave his coaches and teammates something to watch.
Brown set the tone with a steal on the first possession of the quarter. He went on to record a career-high 11 points on 4of-4 shooting, including 3 three-pointers, to help the Bucks cut the deficit as low as nine points before falling, 109-96, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“I feel great; it was fun out there, man,” Brown said. “We were having fun out there. Even though we were down it felt great. That’s why we went out there and did what we did, cut the lead as much, because we were just having fun trying to play hard, trying to come back and get the win for our team.”
Free to play aggressively without having to worry much about the score, Brown played with confidence. His shots came in rhythm and without hesitation, never so much as hitting the rim on the way down.
On defense, he displayed similar intensity, not bogged down by overthinking or trying to do things perfectly. That led to a pair of steals — as well as four fouls (one offensive) — in the quarter, but overall the impact was positive.
After sparse playing time early in the season, Brown has logged minutes in nine of Milwaukee’s past 13 games, usually playing one stint of about 7 minutes or fewer. He believes Monday's effort could lead to more chances.
“I think so,” Brown said. “Just show the coaches the energy I can bring, the offensive mentality, the winning mentality. I feel like it can (lead to more playing time), but whenever I get out there I’m just going to do what I can do and that’s play hard.”
Bucks coach Jason Kidd took notice. He indicated the performance by Brown, as well as the one by guard Sean Kilpatrick, who had seven points in 8 minutes, could lead to more opportunities, beginning with Wednesday's 7 p.m. game against the Orlando Magic at the BMO Harris Bradley Center
“Looking at what Sterling did tonight was really good and hopefully he can carry that over to practice and then to the game on Wednesday,” Kidd said.
The highest praise came from Brown’s teammates. Both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, who average the most minutes per game in the NBA at 37.7 and 37.2, respectively, had front-row seats to Brown’s fourthquarter outburst.
Both liked what they saw, deepening and affirming their confidence in the rookie.
“It’s big-time,” Antetokounmpo said. “He’s been doing great,” Middleton added. “Every time he gets a chance he produces. Just has to keep doing the right thing, always being ready, stay working hard before and after practice.
"His time is going to come soon and we’re going to need him, more than he thinks, probably. Just got to stay ready, stay the course. He’s playing well, so his chance should be coming soon.”