Bucks Zone

The Milwaukee Bucks briefly assign Jae Crowder and two youngsters to the G-League

Jae is gearing up for a much-awaited return.

Matthew Dugandzic

© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

Jae Crowder, AJ Green, and Chris Livingston were assigned to Wisconsin Herd and joined the team practice on Tuesday. Per Eric Nehm of The Athletic, the three players were immediately recalled to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The three players' brief assignment to the Herd was seen as part of Crowder's impending return to the Bucks lineup.

Much-awaited return

Crowder has not played since November 11th after suffering an abdominal and adductor strain in Milwaukee's 97-112 loss to the Orlando Magic. The 12-year veteran went under the knife due to the injury.

The imminent return of Crowder is a welcome development for a Bucks team that is in the middle of a mini-slump. Milwaukee is on a rough sailing after losing four of their first five games of the month. The slump came after the Bucks went on an impressive 11-2 run in December.

Milwaukee has lost its two games but is still in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 25-12 record.

Milwaukee needs Jae on both ends of the floor

The Bucks badly need to get the 33-year-old Crowder back to inject some life into their much-maligned perimeter defense.

Crowder, who joined Milwaukee in February last year, has only played nine games this season with two starts. He is averaging 8.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks in 26.7 minutes of playing per contest.

Aside from his defense, Milwaukee also needs Crowder's outside shooting. Jae is shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 51.6 percent from three-point range.

Jae Crowder believes his return can help shore up the Milwaukee Bucks’ inconsistent defense

Published
Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.