Milwaukee Bucks need these 3 players to play great in the playoffs to win a title

Joe Ingles and Jae Crowder need to show why they were brought to Milwaukee.

Ingles was added in the offseason to provide a taller consistent shooter that the Bucks badly missed in the playoffs last year after Middleton’s injury. He missed the first half of the season due to recovering from a knee injury.

He had a solid season as he shot 40.9% from three. The Bucks need him to knock down three-pointers in the playoffs, especially in a matchup against the Celtics. Plus, he needs to provide scoring behind Middleton in the rotation.

That was missing in last year’s playoff loss to the Boston Celtics. Grayson Allen got gobbled up by the Celtics’ defense and could not defend on the other end.

Also, Ingles provides another ball handler to run the offense when Jrue Holiday, Giannis, or Middleton are on the bench. Jevon Carter can provide backup point guard minutes, but if he proves to be overmatched, the Bucks need the veteran Ingles to step in.

Crowder was brought in during a midseason trade to fill the role PJ Tucker provided in the 2021 championship run.

The Bucks need him to chase around the opponent’s best player to allow Giannis and Jrue some rest on defense. Tucker chasing around Kevin Durant or Devin Booker in 2021 allowed Giannis and Jrue to focus more on the offensive end. His presence was missing in 2022.

That is why Crowder, who has a similar game to Tucker, is in Milwaukee. If he can be the defensive pest Tucker was (and knock down the occasional three), then the Bucks have a really good shot at winning another title.