Valuable veteran Augustin steadied ship for Bucks
Backup guard had key role during winning streak
D.J. Augustin last started on a regular basis when he did so 81 times during the 2018-19 season for the Orlando Magic, but the veteran point guard has spent the bulk of the last eight seasons coming off the bench for a handful of teams, and that was his primary role the first 28 games of this season for the Milwaukee Bucks.
There was a change in that for Augus
tin, too, as he played a bit more off the ball than he was used to with Jrue Holiday, Giannis Antetokounmpo or Khris Middleton initiating the offense. And, when Holiday was placed in the league's health and safety protocol on Feb. 8, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer initially wanted to keep Augustin in the backup point guard role for rotation consistency.
Once the Bucks had fallen into a five-game losing streak, however, Budenholzer looked to spark a lagging offense and started Augustin on Feb. 19 against Oklahoma City.
The points didn't come immediately in that game – the Bucks scored 98 that night – but they did win, snapping the streak.
“He's just another ball handler on the court, somebody who can get us into our offense and get guys looks,” Middleton said.
Augustin scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting and handed out five assists in the victory over the Thunder.
“He just did a great job of coming out and leading,” center Brook Lopez said. “Being a point guard, being a vet in this league, having played in a lot of different situations, that's who he is and what he's capable of.”
Augustin started the next two games (both victories) before missing the New Orleans game for the birth of a child. Augustin returned and started Sunday, and the Bucks beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 105-100.
The additional minutes (28 per game) helped Augustin find his shooting touch. In the last four games, he is shooting 41.4% from the floor and 35% from three-point range. He also contributed 4.3 assists and scored 7.8 points per game.
“The NBA is a game of runs” Augustin said. “You're gonna make runs, the other team is going to make runs; you just gotta know when to slow things down, when to settle down, get the offense together, when to take good shots, when not to shoot. My role has always been to be steady and run things, run the offense. I think that's the role of any point guard.”
In his first 28 games, Augustin had shot just 33.6% from the floor and 36.8% from the three-point line in 18 minutes per game.
“It's a long season, man,” he said. “I've been doing this a long time. I know one thing about myself, no mater how I'm playing, good or bad, I'm going to stick with it and keep playing hard, do the little things I can on defense and make hustle plays. Offense will come.”
While the Bucks welcomed Holiday back Sunday, Augustin's impact in steadying the ship had not been lost.
“D.J. has been a real good influence on the group,” Budenholzer said. “I think he's gotten us organized. He just gets everybody to kind of their more natural positions and with a good start to the game and kind of mix and match from there. I think DJ's been huge or us.”
What’s happened with Craig?
As the Bucks have turned around their fortunes the last two weeks with a change in bench combinations, Torrey Craig has become the odd man out.
The 30-year-old free agent acquisition has had a head-scratching first half. A hamstring injury in training camp slowed him and he did not play in the season opener against Boston. He saw late, blowout minutes against Golden State and New York before breaking his nose against the Knicks on Dec. 27. He was cleared to play against Dallas on Jan. 15, but he didn't see the court until Jan. 24.
He averaged 12.1 minutes per game over the next 14 games, scoring 3.1 points and pulling in 2.5 rebounds per game. His offensive rating (points produced per 100 possessions) was 114 and defensive rating (points allowed per 100) was 112.
He has not played since getting seven minutes against Toronto on Feb. 18.
“You just have to make some hard decisions and just kind of weigh it all out,” Budenholzer said. “We've gone with Thanasis (Antetokounmpo) some lately. What he's brought has been really positive. Pat Connaughton and the wings have been good, so it's just, you have to make hard decisions as a coach.
“Any time we need stops, he's somebody we feel confident can help us. But sometimes you just have to stick with some guys and it's hard to balance and change from game to game and so on and so forth.”