Bucks vs. 76ers | Team feels sense of urgency after two straight losses

PHILADELPHIA – The Milwaukee Bucks head to Philadelphia to complete the first back-to-back of the season tonight at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Bucks have opened the season with two consecutive losses while the 76ers are 2-0.

Both teams went through major makeovers in the offseason, as the Bucks took a step back to try and build toward to a more competitive level while the 76ers traded for Jaylen Brown and signed LeBron James in an effort to try and win a championship.

Chicago Bulls guard Tre Jones (30) drives past Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) during the game on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Chicago Bulls won the game, 132-125.

Bucks feel urgency to put complete game together

Milwaukee entered the season with a goal of trying to win as much as possible, while also understanding expectations are “modest,” as co-owner Wes Edens’ said before training camp. Head coach Taylor Jenkins has been careful to stress an urgency to compete hard – and play well – enough to win but has not gone so far as to put any expectation on a total or even a postseason appearance.

That message has gotten through to his new team, though. Every player the Journal Sentinel has spoken two over the last two weeks has stressed a level of urgency to put positive results on the scoreboard.

Jenkins reiterated that following the team’s loss to Chicago on Oct. 23.

“Just learn from it, own it and work – the care factor’s there,” the coach said. “These guys, I know they’re putting in the work, just continuing to focus on the details. The little things are going to matter. It’s the communication, it’s the ability with on-ball defense, with the shift help and rotating. I told ’em the fact that it’s early, we can’t be using that as an excuse. The urgency is there. We know what we’re talking about, we just gotta apply it.”

More: Is Ryan Rollins the face of the Bucks?

Jaime Jaquez Jr. noted how the team had checked a lot of boxes for 3 ½ quarters, but ultimately their consistency waned enough for the Bulls to overcome a 15-point deficit and win the game in the closing minutes. Milwaukee had every chance to win its opener in Washington. D.C.. as well, only to falter late.

“It’s the moments of truth at the end of the game, right?” Bucks guard Tyler Herro said after the Bulls loss, noting some high-percentage shots and free throws the team missed, as well as defensive miscues.

“Just like our first game, the first 3 ½ quarters or so I thought we played well. We’re a young team, guys are learning, guys are getting new experiences and I think just continue to get better. But we’re urgent. We’re trying to get it done now.”

If Jenkins is trying to walk a line between urgency and development, his players have gotten on the tightrope with him to this point. There is no feeling of panic around the two losses, but rather optimism over improvement that’s already been seen from the beginning of the preseason in mid-October.

“Yeah, for sure, I feel like we’re improving every day,” Bucks guard Kasparas Jakučionis told the Journal Sentinel. “That’s our mentality. That’s what we came here to do, just improve every day and try to get better than we were yesterday. We’re not looking to be better than someone else, we want to be better than ourselves yesterday.”

Jenkins worked through a ton of player combinations in the five-game preseason but has pretty quickly settled on a group of 10 that he wants to see together through at least the first two games. For most of them, they are the first real minutes they’ve played together. That said, no one is using it as an excuse.

“That’s why he loves the little things, [they] are even more important,” guard AJ Green said. “That’s why he stressing it so much. We gotta know what we’re doing, what we need to be doing, what our next job is, communicating, huddling up, talking to each other before, after, so that we can all be on the same page. You cover up for each other and let’s say make up for the ‘oh, I hadn’t played with this guy.’ It’s a reality, but it can’t be an excuse to use if things happen.”

Is LeBron James playing?

No. James was ruled out with low back and sciatica management. James is shooting 37% overall while pulling down 9.5 rebounds and handing out 6.0 assists.

All players are available.