Milwaukee Bucks' depth immediately tested vs. Heat and Pat Connaughton steps up

At several points this season, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer and a few of his veteran players would be asked about role clarity, and the communication needed from a coaching staff to a championship-caliber roster.

In the early stages of the Bucks’ 58-win regular season, such questions centered around point guard George Hill, wings Wesley Matthews, MarJon Beauchamp and Jordan Nwora, and center Serge Ibaka. At one point, Budenholzer smiled and said veterans in particular needed clarity because they could get a bit saltier than a younger player.

Though the Bucks’ roster changed during the course of the year due to the trade for Jae Crowder and free agent signings of Goran Dragić and Meyers Leonard, it was easy to do the math as the team barreled to the playoffs – there were too many players for too few minutes.

“The greatest amount of depth and quality and guys that have really earned and deserve opportunities to play with us, with what they’ve done in their careers, so I think communication is something that we, hopefully, fall back on regularly,” Budenholzer acknowledged before the playoffs began. “It’s important.”

“Will figure out what we think is best for the group and know that everybody’s ready and everybody can help us.”

Two seasons ago – and now quite famously – Bobby Portis was the odd man out.

After a breakout season, the Bucks cut his minutes in Games 3 and 4 against Brooklyn in the second round of the playoffs before ultimately sitting him altogether for the final three games of the series.

Since the result of that season was a championship, Portis playoff journey remains the gold standard example in the locker room where the youngest player outside of the rookie Beauchamp is five-year veteran Jevon Carter – who is 27 and has 20 playoff games under his belt.

Bucks players know minutes situation in playoffs

“We have a group of high IQ basketball players and professionals. Everyone understands the minutes situation and how it works in the playoffs,” Brook Lopez said last week, before using Portis as an example.

More: 'It's motivation for me': Rather than complain, Bucks' Brook Lopez uses lack of accolades as fuel for success

Grayson Allen found himself in that situation to a different degree at the end of last season. He had started 61 of the 62 games he had played through March 26 – and then on March 29 he was replaced in the starting lineup by Matthews.

That continued into the playoffs, but Allen proved to be a difference-maker in the first round victory over Chicago after Khris Middleton was injured, averaging 20.7 points per game on 70% three-point shooting the final three games of the series.

Pat Connaughton provides critical spark for Bucks

This season, Pat Connaughton averaged nearly 25 minutes per game in the 56 games he played up until March 27. In his final five regular-season games, he played just 12.3 per game, and wasn’t going to play in a pivotal matchup against Boston on March 30 until the Bucks fell behind by 39 points.

“Just the importance of staying ready, how matchups can (change) from series to series, we need that depth,” Lopez added last week. “Everyone is going to come in handy in the playoffs in different situations. You may not know when but that depth is absolutely going to be crucial for us.”

Little did anyone know how crucial it would be. Early in Game 1 against Miami, Giannis Antetokounmpo was injured on a fall. After the game, it was determined that Matthews strained his right calf. Suddenly, two of Budenholzer’s top 10 players were not available for Game 2.

Enter, Connaughton.

He played 25 minutes off the bench, drained 6 three-pointers and scored 22 points – his most in all categories since a near-identical stat line on March 24 at Utah. The effort helped the Bucks even the series with Miami.

In his postgame comments, Connaughton reminded everyone he’s a competitor and added that “In today’s NBA, they try to put you in a box — you’re a shooter, you’re a defender, you’re a little bit of different things and so for me to get back to just showing people (what) I can do and have an impact on the game in different ways, and this is a time of year that I love.

"This is a time of year that I grow to. This is a time of year where if you look back since I’ve been in Milwaukee, I always try to rise to the occasion.

“So, just using that fuel to fuel the fire and making sure that I have my teammate’s backs and put my best foot out there because at the end of the day there’s that old question – do you love to win or do you hate to lose? I hate to lose. I’ll do anything I can to make sure that my teammates and I don’t lose. It ain’t always going to work, but I’ll always put my best foot forth in a plethora of different ways to make sure that I can try to, you now, help our team win.”

With Antetokounmpo and Matthews’ statuses unknown heading into the next two games in Miami, and Jae Crowder having his knee checked on briefly late in Wednesday’s game, the Bucks’ depth and ability for the bench to stay ready may yet again be tested earlier than they hoped.

But if historical precedent holds the Bucks’ veterans have proven they’re more than willing to not only bide their time, but also be prepared for when it is time to punch the clock.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks' depth immediately tested vs. Heat and Pat Connaughton steps up