Milwaukee Bucks players speak on value of in-season practices
Milwaukee Bucks players Myles Turner, Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. speak on value of in-season practices on Dec. 10, 2025.
- The Milwaukee Bucks are using a rare break in their schedule to hold practices and help players heal from injuries.
- Kevin Porter Jr. is managing back spasms, while AJ Green’s status is uncertain due to a shoulder bruise.
- The Bucks are preparing for a tough matchup against the Boston Celtics, who have won 10 of their last 12 games.
The reigning NBA Cup champions are navigating a Milwaukee winter in December for the first time in two seasons, as the Bucks are home practicing instead of heading to Las Vegas for the in-season tournament. While the players assuredly wanted to earn up to $530,000 for capturing the title for the second straight year, having four off days from game play Dec. 7-10 may have been a perfect consolation prize.
More than that, as a team that did not advance to the quarterfinal stage, the Bucks only play two times (Dec. 11 vs. Boston and Dec. 14 at Brooklyn) between Dec. 6-17.
It’s a stark contrast from the seven games in 11 days they played from Nov. 26-Dec. 5.
The gap between games gives players time to heal, like AJ Green (shoulder), Kevin Porter Jr. (ankle, back spasms) and the others who are undoubtedly feeling something even if it doesn’t rise to the level of being put on an injury report.
It also gave the team a chance to actually conduct practices on Dec. 9-10 in advance of hosting the Celtics, and the team no doubt will work in extra sessions some time between Dec. 15-17 before they host Toronto on Dec. 18.
“It’s been good, it’s been really good,” Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma said. “I think it’s a time in the season where you don’t necessarily get that chances to have a lot of time to really get out and get in there as a team and just individually work with players. There are certain type things like me and Ryan (Rollins) need to work on our two-man game, we have time to actually talk about it and figure out better ways to get better.”
Though head coach Doc Rivers calls his lengthy game-day shootarounds “practices,” the team hasn’t held a formal one since Nov. 19. And it was just their third since the regular season began Oct. 22.
“The reps is the best experience, so different lineups, different groups and then being able to get up and down a little (Dec. 9), it’s all good,” Rollins said. “Gotta make the most of it.”
Without star Giannis Antetokounmpo for perhaps up to another three weeks, the time was legitimately needed for the Bucks to work through combinations. The majority of their five-man pairings have been pieced together due to injuries since the season began, and many Bucks players have felt the disjointed nature of their lineups has contributed to the recent weeks of losses.
“To sum it up having two days away and then coming back developed, not developed, assured, a lot of appreciation for this team and for the game,” Porter said. “It’s been the most spirited practices at least since I’ve been back. And it was a good two parties that we needed. Guys were happy, guys were smiling, flowing, we was loud in there and it was contagious. It was a good two practices.”
Kevin Porter Jr. still dealing with back spasms
Porter has been back at full force since Dec. 1, and in his last four games he’s been on fire, shooting 58% overall and 61.5% from behind the 3-point line while averaging 27.0 points, 6.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 steals.
But, he did miss the end of the loss in Washington D.C. on Dec. 1 with a back spasm, and he said he’s still managing that issue.
“I think rest in general is good, especially in this league. My injuries are kind of weird right now. My spasm kind of got worse from the days off. I’ve been trying to get that back right but I’ll be ready for (Boston). I’ll be good enough.”
Porter added that it’s been “tricky” to manage day-by-day.
“Once I’m out there, though, my mind kind of gets off of it and I just go out there and play and that’s what I’m betting on (vs. Boston) and every other day. But yeah, just keep nailing it, keep rehabbing, keep massaging it, doing everything we can to get that little tightness out.”
Will AJ Green play vs. the Celtics?
AJ Green left the game against Philadelphia early on Dec. 5 after suffering a shoulder bruise following an illegal screen by 76ers center Andre Drummond, but Doc Rivers said the guard was able to do a little bit in practice Dec. 10. He wasn’t sure, though, what that means for getting Green back on the court against Boston.
“Just one of those things that happens in basketball, like a sprained ankle,” Green told the Journal Sentinel on Dec. 6 in Detroit. “You can’t avoid it. It happens. I’m feeling better, so we’ll get better.
“Its just part of it. There’s something to learn from every situation you’re in whether you like it or not. Just get to be a great teammate right now and encourage guys and coach guys up. So, I’ll try to do that.”
Green is one of the league’s best 3-point shooters, making 48.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Bucks face red-hot Celtics
The Bucks likely needed the break and the prep time because hosting Boston on Dec. 11 will be a huge test for a team that is desperately trying to scratch out wins with Antetokounmpo sidelined.
The Celtics are, perhaps, one of the more surprising stories of the Eastern Conference as they head to Milwaukee as the No. 3 seed at 15-9. The team, ostensibly, pivoted away from contention in the offseason after all-NBA star Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the second round of the playoffs.
Boston then jettisoned core championship players Kristaps Porziņģis and Jrue Holiday in trades and allowed Al Horford to leave in free agency.
But head coach Joe Mazzulla has entered Coach of the Year conversations as his team has won five straight and 10 of 12.
“They’re a very tough team,” Kuzma said “They’re steamrolling right now, so understanding what they’re trying to do an play sound defense. They want to drive-and-kick. We don’t shoot enough threes, they shoot tons of threes, so being able to close out and contain the dribble and make sure we’re closing out high-end.”
While the Celtics still shoot 3-pointers at an incredibly high rate (No. 3, 33.3 attempts per game), they are just 16th in the league in scoring (117.2) and are one of the few teams who play slower than the Bucks (30th in pace, 96.21 possessions per 48 minutes). But they don’t turn the ball over (No. 1, 11.8 per game) and they are the fifth-best offensive rebounding team in the league. That has allowed them to get up 91.6 shots per game, third-best in the NBA.
On the defensive end, they allow the third-fewest points per game (110.6) in the league.
For a Bucks team that is prone to turnovers, not rebounding and not scoring, it is not a great matchup on paper.
But, perhaps after two practices and a shootaround, the team will be able to take a necessary step toward success without Antetokounmpo.
“I think one, it’s always great to practice in my opinion,” Turner said. “I’ve been in this league long enough to know that yeah, it’s good to get days off and what not, but anytime you get out there between the lines you figure a lot of that stuff out. A lot of stuff figures itself out, so it was good. I feel a lot of this will directly translate, correlate to what we’ve got coming up. For the most part, man, I think it’s just good just for camaraderie.”
