Portland Trail Blazers: 3 inspiring similarities with the Milwaukee Bucks

#2. The Portland Trail Blazers and the 2020 Milwaukee Bucks needed bench upgrades

One of the aspects that the Miami Heat exposed in the Bucks in their second-round battle in 2020 was the frailty of Milwaukee’s bench. The Bucks depth had been a bragging point all season, but when it came time to prove it under the heat of playoff lights, their regular contributors became unplayable.

The difference here is that no one expected Portland to be able to go 10-deep in the postseason like they did the Bucks. Nevertheless, both benches put up similar performances in their series losses.

Here’s a comparison of the bench production for the 2021 Blazers vs. the Nuggets and the 2020 Bucks vs. the Heat.

Blazers: 25 points per game, 12.8 minutes, -4.7 +/-

Bucks: 24.2 points per game, 16.2 minutes, -1.5 +/-

Realizing that they needed more reliable support off the pine, the Bucks took risks in the following off-season to shore up their bench.

They replaced George Hill, Marvin Williams, and Kyle Korver with Bryn Forbes and Bobby Portis, bringing in more offensive potential and youth.

Portis especially paid off, averaging 8.8 points and 5 boards per game, while playing 18 minutes a night and slashing 46/35/72 throughout the 2021 playoffs.

Most impressively, when the Bucks acquired Portis, it wasn’t a move that was lauded by every analyst. The then 5-year veteran had his fair share of troubles on and off the court and many pundits believed that the 2-year/$7.4 million deal he signed with Milwaukee was a “last chance, prove it” type contract.

The Bucks took a risk and it paid off big time. The Blazers with their restricted financial situation will likely have to make a similar gamble if they’re to add significant help to their bench unit.