Prince's minutes jump 8 a night with a teammate out
Taurean Prince is playing more and scoring more when the Bucks are short a man, and the next few games will show if that lasts.
Taurean Prince is averaging 8 more minutes a night over his last three games, with a teammate sidelined. That jump, to 31.6 minutes, is the clearest sign yet that his role has changed under the current circumstances.
The scoring moved with the minutes. Prince is putting up 15.7 points a game over that three-game stretch, well above his season mark of 9.2. His season averages, 23.5 minutes and 9.2 points across 26 games in 2025-26, are the baseline this recent run has broken from.
For this to hold, the Bucks need the absence that opened the door to continue, or the coaching staff needs to decide Prince has earned the extra time regardless. If the teammate returns and Prince's minutes snap back toward 23.5, the three-game run was a fill-in stretch, not a permanent shift. If his minutes stay closer to 31.6 after that return, it means Milwaukee found something it wants to keep.
The last data point here is April 12, 2026. Anyone tracking this should watch the next few box scores for two things: whether the missing teammate is back on the floor, and whether Prince's minutes stay elevated once he is.