Joe Ingles Set to Make Season Debut for Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are nearing full strength about a third of the way through NBA season. According to ESPN’s Adrain Wojnarowski, Bucks forward Joe Ingles is planning on making his season debut on Monday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
ESPN Sources: After nearly 10 months of rehabilitation on a torn left ACL, Milwaukee Bucks forward Joe Ingles is targeting his return vs. New Orleans on Monday. Once Ingles successfully completes a final 5-on-5 workout Saturday, that’ll be the last hurdle in his comeback.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 16, 2022
Ingles has missed almost a full year of action, as he tore his left ACL on January 30th, 2022 on a drive to the basket. In early February, he was then traded to the Trailblazers in a deal that brought Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Jazz. Ingles then had surgery on February 22.
In July, the Bucks signed Ingles to a one-year, $6.5 million contract, using the Milwaukee’s taxpayer midlevel exception. Ingles will have missed the first 29 games this season by the time he plays on Monday, but when he is back he can provide solid production. Ingles has careerp per-game averages of 8.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.2 rebounds, as well as shooting 40.8% from 3.
There are a lot things that make Ingles a really solid addition to the Bucks. First, Milwaukee is always in need of more bench scoring. It is no secret that bench scoring is something they desperately need, as they are once again in the bottom third in the league in that category.
Next, Ingles has always been a willing passer and turns the ball over minimally. His career assist to turnover ratio is a 2.39 (2.0 is a good benchmark). Finally, Ingles has plenty of playoff experience. He made the playoffs five times with the Jazz and has played in 45 playoff games, playing a total of 1,407 minutes in the playoffs.
There are certainly some questions about how Ingles will preform coming off of the knee injury. Before the injury, Ingles was not playing well for the Jazz, shooting below 35% from 3 in the 45 games he played before. Additionally, Ingles is now 35, and it is hard to believe that he will be gaining any steps.
Regardless, Ingles has proven himself to be a quality shooter and player throughout his career. The Bucks hope that he can find his shooting stroke and be a quality contributor to their playoffs push.