Marvin

Williams

The 34-year-old veteran was hoping to end his career with a ring but his Bucks were blindsided by the Heat inside the bubble. Williams’ best years were with the Hawks and he also spent time with the Jazz and Hornets, posting career averages of 10.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.5 blocks and 0.7 triples. “I’ve been very blessed. God has been very, very good to me,” Williams said.

Milwaukee’s bench was critical in this win-or-go-home Game 4, led by George Hill (12 points, five rebounds, three assists. two steals) and DiVincenzo. Marvin Williams was solid with five points, four boards and three times, Kyle Korver hit a 3-pointer and Pat Connaughton....well, he might not be in the rotation in Game 5.

Ilyasova was limited to garbage time in the first round vs. Orlando, and his role hasn’t improved vs. the Heat. He’s a capable 3-point shooter (36.5% this season) who is perennially among the league-leaders for charges drawn, but he’s clearly lost his backup forward minutes to Marvin Williams. There’s no reason to think his role will improve this postseason.

The Bucks led by as many as 21 points, but their lead was down to three points halfway through the fourth quarter. Williams then nailed a pair of key 3-pointers to give his team breathing room, and the Bucks never looked back. They brought in Williams as a free agent after he agreed to a buyout with the Hornets in February, and this game is a prime example why -- he’s a battle-tested veteran who can rebound, defend and hit 3-pointers. This was his highest-scoring game since joining Milwaukee, though, so it’s not a performance to chase in DFS.

Both players were ejected, and that along with the resulting fine is the only discipline coming from the league. Ennis will be back in the starting lineup for Orlando on Monday, with the Magic looking to even the series at two games apiece. He’s the more important of the two to their respective rotations, especially with Aaron Gordon (hamstring) still sidelined.

Ennis and Williams got in each other’s faces with Williams grabbing Ennis’ jersey, and Ennis aggressively removed Williams’ hand from his jersey. It wasn’t all that exciting, but to avoid further escalation, the refs decided to toss both guys out. Ennis will finish with one point and two rebounds over nine minutes and Williams will end his evening with two rebounds and a block over six minutes. They won’t be available for the rest of today’s game, but we don’t anticipate either guy getting hit with a suspension.

If there’s any risk of a setback, it would make sense for the Bucks to simply rest their veteran forward. They’re cruising into the playoffs as the East’s undisputed top seed anyway.

In 11 appearances for the Bucks this season, Williams has averaged 4.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 18.5 minutes. Those numbers aren’t likely to improve much in the bubble, unless the Bucks rest their key guys at some point, so Williams remains an afterthought for DFS purposes.

He was dealing with a mild strain and was always considered day-to-day. Williams will have a very limited role while the Bucks are at full strength and may even take turns with Ersan Ilyasova backing up Giannis.

Head coach Mike Budenholzer described Williams’ strain as a “moderate” one, and hopes to have him back soon. Williams was able to get through some work at shootaround, so the team will wait and see how he responds, but he’ll have a small role with the team even when active.