SEGABABA! If that acronym doesn’t get you fired up, then you don’t love Bucks basketball—or you’re just too jaded after the grind of this season. Either way, the Bucks are back in action tonight against the Houston Rockets. On the road after a three-game home stand, the Bucks take on a Rockets team that has proven it’s good—you don’t win 60% of your games through luck—but not great, going 5-11 against Western Conference teams above them in the standings. Tonight’s game is the second and final one
in the season series between Milwaukee and Houston, with the Rockets taking the first matchup 122-115 behind 31 points and seven assists from Kevin Durant and 23 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists from Alperen Sengun.
Where We’re At
We’ve reached the point of the season where weird is in full effect. Gary Trent Jr. approaching career-highs. Thanasis Antetokounmpo first-quarter minutes. Jericho Sims crossing up dudes on his way to posters. Alex Antetokounmpo minutes. We’ve even seen Andre Jackson Jr. enter the starting lineup—at point guard! While this mightn’t make the Bucks “must-see” in the sense that we’d hope at this time of year, it does make the season’s final games at least somewhat more interesting. Plus, the Bucks are actually coming off a win—just their sixth in their past 20 games!
Unlike the Bucks, the Houston Rockets will feature heavily in the NBA’s postseason. Currently sitting sixth in the Western Conference, the Rockets have survived starting point guard Fred VanVleet’s preseason ACL tear and Steven Adams’ season-ending ankle injury thanks to the consistent play of Durant and Sengun, and the growth of Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, and Jabari Smith Jr. Yet, much of their attention—at least recently—lies closer to home, with reports that the Rockets are expected to make a run at Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason—even if the decision to do so isn’t an easy one. Yesterday, the Rockets made light work of the New York Knicks, jumping out to a 37-21 quarter-time lead and winning 111-94 in a well-balanced effort where no starter scored fewer than 13 points—or stood shorter than 6’7”!
Injury Report
With the Bucks and Rockets both on SEGABABAs, their official injury reports have not yet been submitted. However, it’s likely that Giannis (neck), Thanasis (calf), Kevin Porter Jr. (knee), and Bobby Portis (wrist) will remain out for Milwaukee, and Fred VanVleet (ACL) and Steven Adams (ankle) will remain out for Houston.
Player to Watch
Let’s go with Andre Jackson Jr., the man with nine lives. After largely non-eventful rookie and sophomore campaigns, A-Jax agreed to push back his contract guarantee date for this season, then came plummeted to 15th in our pre-season player rankings. Following this, he survived the roster logjam, first when Chris Livingston was waived, and then again when Tyler Smith was waived. But wait, there’s more! Despite playing in only 24 games and averaging 1.5 PPG, 0.8 RPG, and 1.0 APG in just 6.5 MPG—shooting an abysmal 25% from the field and 19% from three—Jackson stuck with the team through the trade deadline, and then, in perhaps his most surprising survival story yet, hung around when newly-signed Cam Thomas was waived so that Pete Nance could be converted to a standard roster spot. So, here we are, with Jackson in a stretch of meaningful minutes—prior to last night’s 4:43 minute total, he’d played at least 14 minutes in four straight games—looking to give Jon Horst a reason to pick up his team option for next season. Can he go Andre 3000, reinventing himself for the future in the city he once found himself a champion? Or is he who he is, a cat with nine lives who’s just about through the last one?
How To Watch
Tune in at 7:00 p.m. CDT on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
