The Milwaukee Bucks will kick off their preseason-schedule
on Tuesday in Canton against the Cavaliers. To prepare, the team held an open
practice on Thursday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, a practice that had a
lot of eye-opening highlights for fans, coaches, and players.
Twenty-year old forward Tobias Harris was the big name of
the night on Thursday, scoring a game-high nineteen points for the White team.
Harris and his teammates for the day would ultimately lose to the Black side by
four, though his performance may have thrust the second-year rookie into a
starting role for Tuesday's game in Ohio.
Head coach Scott Skiles remained vague when asked about the
former Tennessee Volunteers chances at starting in-place of the injured Luc
Richard Mbah a Moute in the Bucks first test of the 2013 season. Usually
outspoken, the league veteran told reporters that his roster is exceptionally
deep at the forward position, and that Harris was just as likely as anybody
else to get the starting spot. He reminded media personnel that while Harris
had made strong strides during camp, the youngster still had improvements to
make, and that even if he did manage the starting job on Tuesday, the roster is
almost certain to change before the regular season begins later this month.
John Henson Not Ready For Prime Time Role Just Yet
As deep as the chart is up front for the Bucks, we know at
least one name won't be called up for the starting role. Rookie power forward
John Henson was picked-up by the Bucks during the off-season, after a
successful run in the farm system showed some promise. He scored ten points on
Thursday for the winning side, but, despite the talent, Skiles was much more
honest about Henson's progress thus-far, admitting that he had a long way to go
before he would be ready to jump on the court in a game that carried any
weight.
As far as the coach's thoughts on the team's open practice
went, it was obvious he wasn't overly impressed. Insistent on remaining fairly
hushed about the night, Skiles would only say that he saw both good and bad
performances, and that it was what was to be expected for the third day of
training camp.
Beyond Harris positive night, most of the Bucks regulars
also put up respectable numbers. Drew Gooden put up a team-high eleven points
for the winning side, while starting guards Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings
added six apiece; Jennings also earned nine assists. Along with Harris, Ersan
Ilyasova and Beno Udrih were the stand-outs on the White squad on Thursday. The
pair combined for twenty-seven points on the night, Ilyasova putting down
four-of-seven from beyond the arc.
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