Bucks offer first glimpse of 16/17 squad at open scrimmage

It’s NBA basketball...sort of!

In keeping with their annual tradition, the Bucks made their public debut in Sunday’s open scrimmage at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, going through three quarters worth of not-terribly-intense play before Jason Kidd called it a game. For those scoring at home, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s black team edged Jabari Parker’s white team 43-41, and you can rewatch the hour-long scrimmage in its entirety at Bucks.com.

Observations

• Missed jumpers always seem to be a major theme of the open scrimmage, and today was no different.
• The black team started Dellavedova, Vaughn, Giannis, Teletovic and Monroe, while the white team began with MCW, Brogdon, Jabari, Beasley and Plumlee. I wouldn’t make too much of the lineup decisions today, though it will be interesting to see what Kidd opts to do tomorrow night against the Bulls. Giannis, Jabari and Delly are locks to start, while Vaughn and Plumlee got the majority of first team minutes to start camp.
• I haven’t seen any official stats, but from memory Giannis had around 10 points — two threes (huzzah!), a lefty layup and a Euro-step out of a pick-and-roll. As you might expect, he seemed more intent on getting other guys involved than looking for his own shot, and generally looked at ease initiating the offense.
• Jabari was also in more of a playmaking mode, spending much of the day attacking Teletovic off the bounce, taking one dribble and then kicking out to a guy on the perimeter. He buried an early stepback midranger, a corner three, and dunked in transition after Henson hustled down court for a loose ball.

• Thon Maker was held out for precautionary reasons, but wore a wrap on his sprained right wrist and went through pregame drills.
• Rashad Vaughn started alongside Giannis and Delly, but was scoreless up until a putback layup over Monroe in the fourth quarter. In other words, if you were looking for major improvements from Vaughn, you didn’t see them on Sunday.
• Meanwhile, Brogdon generally seemed more engaged on both ends and connected on a stepback jumper in the second half, but otherwise didn’t offer any hints of whether he’ll be able to knock down NBA threes.

• MCW looked pretty lively leading the white team offense, getting into the lane for a couple floaters and eventually hitting a wing triple in the second half.
• Monroe and Henson both seemed largely incapable of holding onto the ball in the post.