Milwaukee Bucks: Grades From 95-69 Win Over Chicago Bulls
The Milwaukee Bucks are rolling once more, after blowing out the Chicago Bulls on two different nights, cities and networks.
Dec 16, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives the ball defended by Chicago Bulls forward Cristiano Felicio (6) during the second half at the United Center. Milwaukee won 95-69. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Bulls | 15 | 22 | 15 | 17 | 69 |
| Bucks | 34 | 22 | 18 | 21 | 95 |
The Milwaukee Bucks are picking up the momentum they needed after an ugly losing streak earlier in December. It turns out a few games against the Chicago Bulls were just the answer for that tough stretch!
The Bucks have now soundly beaten Chicago twice in a row, with this game being a complete and utter demolition of the Bulls. Milwaukee dominated this game from the jump and never looked back, and left town as utter conquerers.
This was like Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo–it was over quickly. Unfortunately for the Bulls, they had to play all 48 minutes and couldn’t leave the ring in 13 seconds like poor Aldo after he got KO’d.
The Bucks are shooting threes, chasing opponents off of the three-point line, rebounding well and playing like a team. When Milwaukee does that, these Bucks can be real hard to stop. They’re also real fun to watch!
This was a fantastic game from Milwaukee’s perspective. Here are some (mostly) fantastic player and coach grades to go along with it, plus some for Jason Kidd and for the opposing Chicago Bulls.
Dec 16, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) is defended by Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson (22) during the first half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Starters
Matthew Dellavedova
PG, Milwaukee Bucks
C-Matthew Dellavedova had about as good of a game as one can have in the NBA without scoring. Delly missed the three shots he took against the Bulls on Friday, although he did add two rebounds, three assists and two steals. Still this is about the worst game you can have when your team obliterates the other team. At least get a shot to fall, Delly!
Tony Snell
SG, Milwaukee Bucks
BTony Snell played well, which is to say Tony Snell scored 10 points, which is to say Tony Snell made some threes. Snell’s offense often depends on whether his three-point shots are falling, and two out of three of them did against Chicago. Snell finished the night with 10 points, five rebounds and two assists, a good performance for him.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
SF, Milwaukee Bucks
A+Giannis Antetokounmpo needs to start in that All-Star game. He’s too damn good not to. He recorded 22 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, three steals and a block in his 35 minutes against Chicago. The Bucks outscored the Bulls by 29 points in Giannis’ time on the floor, which is the best plus/minus any Buck had. The Greek Freak is on a new level, and he’s still somehow got room to improve. Especially if he can keep making threes!
Jabari Parker
PF, Milwaukee Bucks
B+Jabari Parker only scored 12 points against Chicago, but he missed just two of his eight shots and also hauled in seven rebounds. Jabari also posted an assist and a steal in the contest. For a while, there was a worry that it would be tough for Jabari to contribute when his shots weren’t falling, like 2014 classmate Andrew Wiggins. With his improving defense and capable rebounding, Jabari is starting to put those fears to rest.
John Henson
C, Milwaukee Bucks
CJohn Henson only made four out of his 10 shots, but as long as Hook’s defense stays strong he’ll remain the Bucks starter. Henson has been an anchor on that end, and he added two blocks to his 10 points, four rebounds and one steal on Friday. He needs to pull down more than four rebounds, but this wasn’t a horrible night for Henson.Next: Bench
Dec 16, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Jason Terry (3) handles the ball defended by Chicago Bulls forward Doug McDermott (11) during the second half at the United Center. Milwaukee won 95-69. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Bench
Mirza Teletovic
PF, Milwaukee Bucks
B+I firmly believe that Mirza Teletovic has a shooters shoot tattoo on him somewhere. Maybe it’s on his soul. Whatever the case may be, Machine Gun Telly has had no reservations about letting them fly in his time with the Bucks. He justified his penchant for chucking threes again on Friday by making three of his eight attempts. Mirza scored 13 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, and he added eight rebounds, two assists and a block as well–that’s gravy production from Teletovic.
Greg Monroe
C, Milwaukee Bucks
B+It took him 14 shots to get his 14 points, but this was still a solid performance from Greg Monroe. He dominated the lost Bulls on the glass, hauling in 12 boards to go along with his three assists. Monroe has struggled with making layups this season, but most other parts of his game have been literally better than ever. The Bucks might not even want to trade him anymore, although his trade value is going up with each performance like this.
Malcolm Brogdon
PG, Milwaukee Bucks
C-President Malcolm Brogdon had a quiet game against the Bulls. It turns out not every rotation player can go off, and Brogdon was one of the few Bucks not to put up a brilliant line. He recorded seven points, two rebounds, one assist and two turnovers against the Bulls. The President shot just three-for-eight from the field. Still, anytime a team gets locked down by the Bucks, Brogdon is likely involved somehow thanks to his usually-terrific defense.
Jason Terry
SG, Milwaukee Bucks
BJason Terry doubled his score from the last game, making two three-pointers this time around. He also added a rebound and three assists, making this one of the better JET flights we’ve seen thus far this season. Terry is the fifth-most important bench player in a bench unit made up of five players, so I’m not going to sweat his games too much right now, especially in a blowout win.
Victory Cigar
Lineup, Milwaukee Bucks
INCThe fearsome foursome of Rashad Vaughn, Thon Maker, Miles Plumlee and Steve Novak emerged to play the last five-ish minutes of this one, with Plumlee and Vaughn rolling out first followed shortly by the other two. They were a combined 0-3 from the field, recording one combined point and five combined rebounds. This might be the best victory cigar lineup in the NBA, although they didn’t do much in this one against the Bulls.Next: Coaching
Dec 15, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd calls a play in the second quarter during the game against the Chicago Bulls at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Coaching
Jason Kidd
Head Coach, Milwaukee Bucks
A+This was an utter destruction of the Chicago Bulls. It’s hard to have too many problems with Jason Kidd after that. Letting the Victory Cigar group get in the game earlier might’ve been prudent considering how lost Chicago was in their own building, but that’s nit-picking. The staggering of minutes with Giannis and Jabari has worked really well lately, and I love Kidd throwing Jabari into tough defensive and offensive assignments and making him figure himself out.Next: Opposition
Dec 16, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) drives against Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker (12) during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Opposition
Chicago Bulls
Central, 13-12
The Bucks get some days off now before next taking the court at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the first game of another one of these weird home-home back-to-backs.
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