Bucks Lose Key Rotation Piece For Three Weeks

The Milwaukee Bucks will have to open the season without a key piece of their rotation, as a calf strain will keep wing player Pat Connaughton out until at least a week into November.

The Bucks said this morning guard Pat Connaughton will miss three weeks with a calf strain, knocking him out until early November and forcing him to miss Milwaukee’s opening stretch of games — including the season opener in Philadelphia Thursday night.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 16, 2022

He missed the last two preseason games, and an MRI revealed the calf strain. "We don't think it was an incident in a game," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "There's something that's just not quite 100%, not perfect, so this time of year we can be extra cautious."

The Bucks will have to start the season without both the catch-and-shoot specialist Connaughton and their second overall scoring option Khris Middleton.

Bucks are pretty thin on the wing right now with Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton out. This could be a chance for Jordan Nwora to see a lot of minutes. I think he's ready for them.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 16, 2022

As noted by NBA reporter Keith Smith, that leaves the Bucks with a lack of options on the wing, and could open up plenty of playing time for the likes of third-year forward Jordan Nwora. He averaged 7.9 points in about 19 minutes per game last season.

Connaughton averaged 9.9 points and 4.2 rebounds last season while shooting 39.5% from long distance.

He picked up his $5.7M player option for this season earlier this summer.