The Milwaukee Bucks played their first preseason game against the Chicago Bulls.

Milwaukee was far from full strength, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard (still hard to believe), and Khris Middleton all sitting out. Because Chris Livingston, Cameron Payne, and A.J. Green did not play, Milwaukee’s depth would have to come up big time against a Bulls squad that was without most of its key players.

They did it.

Milwaukee Bucks’ depth shines in preseason win over Bulls

Above all, it appeared that most attention in this game would be on sophomore wing MarJon Beauchamp, who has been the talk of the town this offseason. Surprisingly, he did not even play, but it didn’t matter because Beauchamp finished with a game-high 18 points. Four of those scores came in the last minutes of the game, when he hit four critical free throws.

Andre Jackson Jr., another rookie projected to see action for the Bucks this season, also put noteworthy footage on video in this one. Jackson accomplished a little bit of everything, tallying four points, four rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one blocked shot, including guard DeMar DeRozan, one of the game’s smoothest scorers today. Jackson’s potential as a player is enormous.

Jae Crowder and Malik Beasley, both starters, came in as veteran role players. Crowder finished with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including two long-range shots. Beasley displayed the prolific shooting that has helped him build a name for himself in the NBA, scoring 13 points on 3-of-7 deep shots.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo also played in this game, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds, and two blocked shots. As usual, his enthusiasm was palpable, with Antetokounmpo’s presence felt on both ends. Brook Lopez scored 11 points in less than 13 minutes, nine of which came from beyond the arc.

It would be remiss not to include Drew Timme, who played less than four minutes but had the game-winning putback with 29 seconds remaining to put the Bucks up two.

Finally, it’s fantastic to see the Bucks start the preseason with a win, especially because they did so despite being so shorthanded. Jackson and Beauchamp are two players to keep an eye on for the rest of the preseason, as they have the potential to be significant contributors every week if they can keep this up.

It’ll be interesting to see how everyone fits in when/if the Bucks play their Big Three and other depth players the rest of the preseason.

The Milwaukee Bucks will return to action against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.