The Milwaukee Bucks made a relatively small move that could pay off in the playoffs.
They acquired veteran role player PJ Tucker along with Rodions Kurucs and Milwaukee’s 2022 first-round pick from the Houston Rockets for DJ Augustin, DJ Wilson and a 2023 unprotected first-round pick.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Sources: Houston is trading PJ Tucker, Rodions Kurucs and Bucks’ 2022 first-round pick back to Milwaukee for DJ Augustin, DJ Wilson and 2023 unprotected first-round pick. Houston also gets right to swap its 2021 second-round pick for Milwaukee's FRP pick unless it falls 1-9.</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href=”https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1372324098769104900?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>March 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
This trade certainly doesn’t give the Bucks a third star but they might have acquired a piece that could help them perform a little bit better in the postseason.
The 35-year-old veteran has only been putting up 4.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists in 30.0 minutes of action but despite his lesser impact on his former team this season, Tucker is a proven high-quality veteran.
For his career, the nine-year veteran is averaging 7.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.2 steals in 42.0% shooting from the field and 35.9% shooting from the three-point line.
Tucker may not score 20 per night nor dish out 10 dimes per game nor grab rebounds and defend like Dennis Rodman, but he does a little bit of everything without compromising the offense or defense. He also brings a lot of toughness and heart.
Tucker has tons of playoff experience, reaching the East Semis once during his time with the Toronto Raptors, the West Semis thrice and the West Finals once as part of the Rockets.
The Bucks are currently 26-14 and are sitting third in the East. They have won nine out of their last 10 games and currently on a five-game winning streak.
In its most recent game, the Milwaukee Bucks took care of business against the Philadelphia 76ers, 109-105.
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However, despite their stellar season, they’ve developed a reputation for flaming out spectacularly in the playoffs.
Two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is still putting up superstar numbers with 29.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks on 56.3% shooting from the field. Khris Middleton is the second leading scorer with 20.2 points per game along with 6.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
Veteran point guard Jrue Holiday is having a good first year with the Bucks with 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while Brook Lopez is averaging 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds while Donte DiVincenzo and Bobby Portis are both contributing 10 points per game.
As a team, the Milwaukee Bucks are second in points per game at 119.5, first in rebounding with 48.5, 10th in assists with 26.0, eighth in steals with 8.2, sixth in field goal percent shooting with 48.5% and eighth on defense with 109.3 defensive rating.
Tucker’s addition would not necessarily move the needle heavily on those numbers but his toughness on both ends of the floor and leadership will help the Bucks in a big way since they’ve shown multiple breakdowns in the past.
All that’s left now is to see how the Bucks will integrate him into their system.
Do you think Tucker will make a big impact with the Bucks? Sound off the below in the comment section.
