Milwaukee Bucks rookies draw praises from Coach Griffin despite bad loss to the Utah Jazz

Andre was also over the court

With Damian Lillard out, Andre Jackson Jr. was able to start, while Chris Livingston and AJ Green were also able to play for significant minutes.

“Dre (Jackson) is great. His energy, he’s on the glass, he’s a dunker, he spaced out, he attacked the rim,” Adrian said.

Acquired by the Orlando Magic as the 36th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft but was traded to the Bucks, Jackson played for 26 minutes and tallied seven points, five rebounds, and three assists.

Griffin sees Andre, who can do more if given more minutes.

“He’s going to figure out. He just needs more minutes out there,” said Griffin.

Griff gives Chris a chance

Chris Livingston, Milwaukee’s 58th pick in last year’s NBA Draft, played just his eighth game of the season. Livingston was given the opportunity to play with the Bucks playing without Lillard, Cameron Payne, and Jae Crowder.

“I thought this would be a game that we can..you know..with Dame out and Cam out, there was a potential that we can or opportunity that we can play him. I wanted to see him. I've been intrigued with him, his size, his athleticism, and his great feel for the game,” said Griffin.

Livingston produced six points, two rebounds, and one steal in 15 minutes of play.

“I thought he was tremendous. Throwing him in a game like that, he played extremely hard, he could defend, he could rebound, finish around the basket,” Adrian added.

AJ Green also saw action for 11 minutes and collected eight points and a rebound.

“Hat’s off to our young guys. I thought they really competed, him (Livingston and Drew did a phenomenal job tonight. And AJ came in; we would have probably been down 40 without AJ in the first half. He came in and hit a coupe of threes. I like what our bench was able to bring tonight,” Griffin concluded.