At this point of the season, the Milwaukee Bucks are looking for any way to turn their season around after a 1-7 start to the season. Milwaukee had opportunities to rack up more wins this year, but with inconsistent play throughout games, from poor starts to poor fourth-quarter finishes, the Bucks have let games get away from them.

The trend continued against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night as they trailed by 22 in the second quarter, but came back in the second half and even took the lead in the fourth quarter. However, there wasn’t enough production from Milwaukee, and they fell 109-102.

While the effort and resiliency were commendable, NBA players and coaches don’t play and coach for moral victories even if the team doesn’t have high expectations for the season. The Bucks had a chance to get a win, and throughout the handful of factors that led to the loss, one of the key problems was the offensive rebounding by the Celtics. 

Milwaukee allowed 19 offensive rebounds to Boston, which led to 14 chance points. While the Celtics left some points off the board, shooting 5-for-19 (26.3%) with their second-chance opportunities, the fact that the Bucks allowed 19 offensive rebounds is alarming.

However, despite ranking third in the NBA in rebounds, averaging 49 per game, the Bucks have allowed 14 offensive rebounds per game, which is tied for No. 25 in the league. It’s clear that they need to limit the offensive rebounds, and there may be someone who can do that for them. 

Jericho Sims’ identity as a player throughout his career has been rebounding. In his first full season with Milwaukee last year, he averaged 5.5 rebounds per game in just under 20 minutes a night. He’s an athletic big who plays with a high motor, but has only played in four games this season.

He has limitations offensively and can’t space the floor, so most of his value comes at the defensive end, and we saw glimpses of that against the Minnesota Timberwolves.  While he only recorded two rebounds, he displayed great defensive versatility bro able to switch out to guards and guard them on the perimeter. It was an impressive display to guard crafty players like LaMelo Ball and Bones Hyland at his size.

Against the Celtics, Myles Turner did a solid job cleaning the boards as he racked up nine rebounds to go along with his 12 points and six assists, but his backup Kel’el Ware did not make his 7-foot presence known on either end of the court, only recording two points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.

For reference, Ryan Rollins, who is 6-foot-3, had nine rebounds off the bench. Granted, Rollins did play eight more minutes than Ware, but the fact that Rollins out-rebounded Ware is something that needs to be noted. Ware’s effort and motor have been talked about during his time with the Miami Heat, and fans take note of it when they are watching the games. 

It’s far too early to give up on Ware, as he showed flashes for Milwaukee, averaging 10.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, including three double-doubles so far this season, and it’s only one performance through eight games. 

I’m not saying Sims should replace Ware or that the decision to give him more playing time will drastically change the outcome for Milwaukee, but when your team is 1-7, struggles to limit offensive rebounds and ranks No. 27 in defensive rating, you look for any way to improve the the team, and Sims might be someone who is deserving of more than just six minutes per game.