NBA Summer League: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Denver Nuggets Preview

The Milwaukee Bucks will close out their time in Summer League with one last afternoon matinee against the Denver Nuggets. The game tips off at 3 pm Central on ESPNews. I can’t remember the last time I turned that channel on.

Where We’re At

I’m not sure about the rest of you, but I’m definitely gonna be basketballed out after this one. Normally, I’m all gung-ho about Summer League after a few months without Bucks basketball, but between the lengthy championship run, leading directly to the Olympics and now Summer League, I won’t mind a bit of a roundball break before camp quickly opens again. Still, I’ve enjoyed seeing a few of the young guys (okay, mostly Mamu, personally) stretch their wings in in Vegas.

It was a third straight loss for the Bucks after they fell 93-83 against the Washington Wizards. It was another abysmal shooting day from deep, going just 7-27 (25.9%), so maybe there’s some regression in store? Mamadi Diakite definitely played his best game of this session so far with 18 points and nine boards though. Let’s see how he can close it out. Georgios Kalaitzakis didn’t play the last game with a quad contusion.

As for the Denver Nuggets, they’re also 1-3 so far, finally getting on the board with an OT 89-85 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Denver actually has a fun mix of talent to check out if they all play between Bol Bol, Markus Howard (Marquette product), Bones Hyland (great name, fun potential rookie) and Zeke Nnaji. They also have Matur Maker, Thon’s brother, rostered, although I’m not sure if he’ll play.

Player to Watch

I don’t watch all that many full Wisconsin Herd games, although I sometimes catch the highlights. So, I’m going to relish my last chance to see Sandro Mamukaleshvili get substantial playing time for a while here. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed his weird mix of skills out here, and he’s helped given me the necessary excitement to push us through these last few days of Summer League.