Bucks pick up the pace by playing five-on-five
The Milwaukee Bucks practiced fiveon-five Monday for the first time since the NBA shut down in mid-March.
Reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo had a very succinct summation of how he performed during the team’s practice inside the league’s “bubble” at Disney World outside of Orlando.
“I sucked,” Antetokounmpo said. “I was terrible.”
He flashed a sly smile and acknowledged that the team has a ways to go until they resume the regular season against the Boston Celtics on July 31.
“Day by day, you try to get in shape,” Antetokounmpo said. “Try to find my rhythm. Obviously, being in shape and being in basketball shape is two different things.
“So, I always take it day by day, try to get better each day. I know that I’m gonna be ready when the scrimmages start and the games start.”
It has been quite the journey to get back to a five-on-five practice. The Bucks last played a game March 9 before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the season.
The players scattered across the nation and the team didn’t open its practice facility until May 11. The league and the players union agreed to restart the season in early June and players returned to their home markets a few weeks later.
But there were no group practices, only individual work, as the Bucks ramped up before departing for Orlando. There was also the setback of having to shut down the team’s practice facility July 4 after a positive coronavirus test. The team’s full, 35-person traveling par
ty has yet to arrive at Disney World, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said Monday.
After checking into their rooms at the Gran Destino Tower last Thursday, the staff and players had to go through a required quarantine period. Finally, the Bucks got on the practice court Saturday, but only for individual drills and small-group work.
So playing five-on-five was a big step.
“I think anytime you’re playing five-on-five for the first time there is a tiny bit of rust,” Budenholzer said. “But overall I was really pleased with the guys and how they played. The way they played. So I think overall it was a real positive.
“To say that they’re ready to go play a 48-minute game would be a stretch. But it was a good start.”
Bucks guard Khris Middleton has said that he rarely picked up a basketball during the long hiatus. So he’s trying to get sharp to resume what has been the best season of his career.
Middleton, who signed a five-year deal worth about $178 million last summer, was averaging a career-best 21.1 points per game while shooting 49.9% from the field, 41.8% on three-pointers and 90.8% at the free-throw line.
“It feels good,” Middleton said. “Of course, the first couple times (at practice) we were a little rusty. Which I’m sure everybody was. Being back in the gym feels great. We’re working hard every day to get to where we want to be.
“So I don’t think that time frame is really going to hold us back. Right now we’re playing hard, practicing hard, encouraging each other, making each other better. Everybody’s going through the same thing. It’s going to be the strongest (team) to come out of this.”
The Bucks rampaged through the regular season and were a NBA-best 5312 when play was halted. It’s going to be tough to get back to that level.
“We were a little bit all over the place (on Monday),” Antetokounmpo said. “But I think everybody was happy, running up and down, everybody was going full speed. So it’s just good to have everybody back together and just playing and having fun.
“I think basketball brings joy to players, so it was good. It was a good day today.” The first five-on-five action gives the team something to build on. The Bucks have three scrimmages with other NBA teams before the game against the Celtics.
“We’ve got time,” Budenholzer said. “A significant number of practices and scrimmages. The eight seeding games (to finish regular season). I think we’ll be in good shape.”
Jerseys with a message
The NBA will allow players to put messages for social change on the back of their jerseys once the games resume at the end of the month. Several of the Bucks players have announced what they will wear.
Both Kyle Korver and Khris Middleton will wear “Black Lives Matter” instead of their names.
“I think it’s the most important thing for people to realize,” Middleton said Monday. “That our lives do matter. That’s why I went with it.”
Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and some other Bucks chose a different route.
“On the back of my jersey is gonna be ‘Equality,’ ” Antetokounmpo said. “That’s what we decided, a majority of the team. So that’s what me and (brother) Thanasis are going to wear on the back of our jersey.”
Contact Ben Steele at (414) 224-2676 or bmsteele@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenSteeleMJS or Instagram at @bensteele_mjs