They didn't play in Game 1, but these young Bucks players helped get team ready for Pacers

The Milwaukee Bucks' young players really stood out in practice last week, and not just because of the canary yellow jerseys they wore.

That group of rookies, two-way players and intriguing prospects were tasked with getting the Bucks ready for the warp-speed of the Indiana Pacers. Although Andre Jackson Jr., TyTy Washington, Chris Livingston, Ryan Rollins and MarJon Beauchamp didn't touch the court in Game 1, the Bucks' coaches and rotation players know how much the youngsters' behind-the-scenes work was instrumental in the 109-94 victory on Sunday at Fiserv Forum.

“Those guys got us better this week," Bucks starter Khris Middleton said. "They played hard. They whooped our (expletive) a couple segments. But we needed that. They were great.”

The Pacers' 94 points were a season low and just the second time they have been held under 100 points. Milwaukee's transition defense has been one of its weaknesses this season, so in the week between the end of the regular season and the playoffs, the Bucks got to work on shoring that up.

Doc Rivers dipped into his coaching bag for idea

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers wanted to simulate the go-go tempo of Indiana, which averaged 128.9 points against Milwaukee in their five regular-season matchups.

He had the young players run the ball relentlessly in five-on-five action, not even bothering to adhere to game rules.

“If we score a bucket when we’re playing, they’re taking the ball out of the basket and not even inbounding," Bucks starting center Brook Lopez said. "They’re just going. It’s not something we’ve done before with the scout team in preparation for a playoff series.”

Rivers is in his 20th playoffs as a NBA coach, and he's had creative preparation ideas before, like when his Los Angeles Clippers faced the three-point bombing Golden State Warriors.

"The Golden State thing, we told them to not take it out and shoot every three," Rivers said. "We didn’t even care if it was a good shot, just throw it up there. Just to get our guys (thinking) you better be there.

“And this one was more take the ball and get to the basket. No matter what, just get to the basket. The first two days (of practice), I thought that was really good for us.”

TyTy Washington and Andre Jackson Jr. simulate Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam

Any basketball player loves getting the green light to get the ball and attack, especially one like 6-foot-3 guard TyTy Washington, who is on a two-way contract and trying to prove he belongs in the NBA.

"It was just fun being able to compete," Washington said. "In the NBA, it’s rare that you find practices where you got guys playing five-on-five.

"This week, obviously they’re a good transition team, they want to get out, so I mean it was nothing but fun for us. Because us young players, that’s all we want to do is play fast, fun."

Washington wore a bright yellow No. 0 jersey all week to act as Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, an Oshkosh native.

"Trying to score in the first eight seconds," Washington said. "Get it up quick and if you ain't got nothing quick, kick it out and shoot. Play free. That's how they like to play, that's how we were playing."

Jackson, the Bucks' hyper-athletic rookie, got into character as Indiana's versatile Pascal Siakam.

"Just trying to give the guys the best look possible," Jackson said. "And just try to give them all the same looks they’re going to see when we go against Indiana. Whether that’s playing that role as Siakam or Haliburton, whoever it is, just trying to simulate game situations as much as possible."

"That’s like their playoffs"

Ryan Rollins was signed as a two-way player on Feb. 20, so he hasn't had much time to make an impression.

The week of practices was his first opportunity.

"I feel like the better we played, and the more energy we played with and the faster we played, the better look they would get to be prepared to play Indiana," Rollins said. "It looked like it worked for the first game."

Rollins and Washington aren't eligible for the playoff roster as two-way players. Jackson, Livingston and Beauchamp didn't take off their warmups in Game 1. They didn't get the glory of playing in front of 17,341 fans at Fiserv Forum, but their work doesn't go unnoticed within the organization.

Rivers said Bobby Portis made sure to thank the young players in front of the group after Saturday's practice. And after the Game 1 victory, Pat Beverley expressed his appreciation.

"For them, that’s like their playoffs," Beverley said. "And we needed every bit of it. Every bit of it. They helped us, for sure.”

The Journal Sentinel's Jim Owczarski contributed to this report

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Young Bucks players like Andre Jackson Jr. ran scout team for Pacers