What we learned in the Bucks' first preseason game after Giannis

Basketball is back in Milwaukee as the Bucks took on the Minnesota Timberwolves to open up the preseason and would fall to the Timberwolves, 116-97.

It was the first game for multiple new faces in Milwaukee, so it's best not to overreact early after one game, but it was not the start that many of them wanted. From shooting struggles to even Ryan Rollins getting elbowed in the face and causing him to bleed, Milwaukee came out of the gates sleeping walking.

Shooting was a challenge as for the Bucks as they shot 6-for-28 (21.4) from the field to start the first quarter. A main reason to why they couldn't get anything going was and struggled to shoot efficiently was because they took a lot of 3-point shots and didn't get many easy baskets close to the rim.

Milwaukee shot 4-for-18 (22.2%) from the 3-point line, and dug themselves into hole early. It's not to say the looks were forced, but it certainly looked like they may have found their identity on the offensive end.

The Bucks ranked No.4 in the NBA in 3-pointers made, and No. 10 in attempts and No. 2 in 3-point percentage last year, and could possibly be leaning into where they left off last season. To finish the game, Milwaukee shot

What also led to them falling behind was that the Timberwolves were getting a lot of easy looks in transition to lead 60-48 at the half.

Taylor Jenkins didn’t mince words: “far from where we need to be… defense was lacking for 48 minutes…”#Bucks pic.twitter.com/Vj0Q14EMK3
— Cameron Ezeir (@camezeir) October 6, 2026

"I would say definitely far from where we’re going to need to be," head coach Taylor Jenkins said in the postgame press conference. "It felt like our defense was really lacking for 48 minutes. We had spurts of it. We had some good possessions, but too often, with no pressure on the ball, no shift was held. They were getting downhill. They only scored 60 points in the paint. We got to do a better job of guarding without fouling. Just a lack of communication. So definitely not the competitive edge that we got to have. I know it's the first preseason game, but I said you know that's not going to be an excuse at all. We’ve got to get better."

Even in the loss, there were some positives such as Rollins who's night ended early in the third quarter after he fouled out, but finished with 15 points, four rebounds, one steal and one block on 6-for-12 (50%) shooting. Kel'el Ware was another positive as he recorded 14 points, 12 rebounds and one block while shooting 5-for-11 (45.4%) from the field.

Ware's fellow teammates from Miami in Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. also made their debuts for the Bucks, and they got off to a slow start as well. Herro finished the game with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists on 3-for-9 (33.3%) from the field and 2-for-4 (50%) from the 3-point line.

Herro struggled at the beginning of the game, but got comfortable as the game went on stepping into a couple of threes and got his teammates involved on the offensive end. Jaquez also struggled in his debut, shooting 2-for-7 from the field and finished the game with five points.

The Bucks had another pair of newcomers in rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament, and they made the most with their opportunities. After an impressive summer league, Burries had to wait near the end of the second quarter to step on the court, but didn't any waste time.

He recorded three points, two rebounds and two assists in the three minutes he received in the first half. Burries would play 17 minutes in his debut and finished the game with seven points, two rebounds, five assists and two steals. Though he shot 3-for-10 (30%) from the field, he looked extremely comfortable for his first game against seasoned NBA players.

Ament had to wait a little longer to step onto the court, but when he did, he was efficient in his time. He knocked down his 3-point attempt, brought the ball up the court and attacked the basket to finish the game with eight points and two rebounds on 2-for-4 (50%) shooting from the field. For a player who had efficiency concerns coming out of the draft, it was a positive sight to see from the rookie.

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