Milwaukee Bucks: Grades From Win Over Washington Wizards
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Washington Wizards by a resounding margin Friday night. How did each Buck grade?
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Bucks | 37 | 36 | 27 | 23 | 123 |
| Wizards | 29 | 29 | 20 | 18 | 96 |
In their last home game of 2016, the Bucks continued their solid play of late in dispatching the Washington Wizards by a score of 123-96.
Leading the charge was Giannis Antetokounmpo, who did nearly everything you could ask for in setting a new career high, but virtually every member of the team had a nice game here.
Although the Wizards kept it close early, a 15-4 run midway through the first quarter allowed the Bucks to take a commanding lead, and they never looked back.
Much like in their two games against the Chicago Bulls last week, the game was never really in doubt after the first half, in which the Bucks put up a season-high 73 points and led by 15. Incidentally, that’s four more points than the 69 allowed to the Bulls over the entire second game.
The Bucks’ guards did a nice job limiting the Wizards’ backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal below their usual outputs, as their combined 28 points falls a far cry from their season average of 46.4.
With some huge performances and memorable moments, there’s much to be said regarding this game. How did everyone grade? Let’s take a look.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Starters
Matthew Dellavedova
G, Milwaukee Bucks
C+A reserved game from Delly, as he finished just 2-6 for five points and four assists. That being said, there’s not much negative to say either – he held John Wall in check for the most part and it’s easy to miss him with Giannis and Jabari flying around. In ceding some point guard duties to Malcolm Brogdon, he did not play at all past the six-minute mark of the third quarter.
Tony Snell
G, Milwaukee Bucks
BTony Snell succeeded in rebounding from some poor outings against Cleveland, contributing 11 points, eight of which came from within the three-point arc. He did a nice job holding Bradley Beal in check, and had a great sequence in the third quarter where he blocked a John Wall layup at the rim and dove into the crowd to save the ball to a teammate, then followed that up with a steal and breakaway dunk the next possession.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
G/F, Milwaukee Bucks
A+The star of the night, Giannis set his new career high with 39 points and added eight rebounds and six assists for good measure. His last few games have included a newfound ability to get to the line, and he continued that here, going 15-of-17 from the charity stripe. We can’t know for sure, but it definitely looks like Giannis is beginning to get the type of “star calls” that are reserved for the likes of LeBron and others. Either way, he resolved his slow-start issues by being assertive early, shot 63 percent from the field, committed only one foul, finished a plus-25, and heard “MVP” chants at the free throw line, which is about all you can ask for. His only negative? Missing the last free throw that would have given him 40 points.
Jabari Parker
F, Milwaukee Bucks
A-Thanks to Giannis’ stellar performance, Jabari wasn’t needed as the Bucks primary option tonight, but he continued his stretch of strong play with 21 points and eight rebounds. He started strong on both ends, finishing the first quarter with two steals and two blocks to go with six points and three assists. As always, there were some highlight dunks, and he even hit a three-pointer.
John Henson
C, Milwaukee Bucks
C-As the only member of the Bucks regular rotation to post a negative plus-minus, John Henson never really made his presence felt here, scoring five points and hitting just one shot from the field. Because of Greg Monroe’s efforts he saw the floor for just 19 minutes and did not play in the fourth quarter.Next: Bench
Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Bench
Greg Monroe
C, Milwaukee Bucks
B+Greg Monroe continued his sparkplug efforts here, finishing with an uber-efficient 12 points on 71 percent shooting, with 11 rebounds to boot. He absolutely feasted on Wizards backup Jason Smith, at one point scoring six straight points on the low block. A team-high plus-29 mark should tell you all you need to know here.
Malcolm Brogdon
G, Milwaukee Bucks
AThe legend of Malcolm Brogdon wrote a new chapter Friday, as he turned in the Bucks second career-high of the evening with 17 points. With Giannis and Delly subbed out, Coach Kidd put the keys to the offense in Brogdon’s hands, and he delivered big time, putting up seven assists, three rebounds, and two steals in addition to his points, which came on perfect 7-for-7 shooting. It’s bizarre to think about, but Brogdon may legitimately be the Bucks’ best guard.
Jason Terry
SG, Milwaukee Bucks
CJet had a mostly nondescript game here, although he did hit two three-pointers early in transition. Aside from a five minute stretch bridging the first and second quarters, the brunt of Terry’s 18 minutes came in garbage time, so there’s not much we can analyze.
Mirza Teletovic
F, Milwaukee Bucks
D-Mirza had unquestionably his worst game as a Buck, failing to score a single point on nine shots from the field, including six from behind the arc. He’s 1-14 over his last three games from long range. If the shots aren’t falling, there’s just not much Telly can contribute, as his only measurable outputs were two rebounds and a block.
Miles Plumlee
C, Milwaukee Bucks
CThanks to the Bucks’ big lead, Plumlee was able to get just over three-and-a-half minutes of playing time, which looks to be the only way he’ll see the floor going forward. He did not attempt a shot, getting on the board with two free throws. Not much to report here.
Thon Maker
F/C, Milwaukee Bucks
B+Maker received a large share of garbage time minutes, entering the game with around seven minutes to go. He picked up five points in a typically exciting fashion, first on a breakaway dunk and then nailing a three-pointer. Thon has played very few meaningful minutes to date, but every blowout win becomes all the more enjoyable when we get to watch him at the end.
Steve Novak
F, Milwaukee Bucks
CNovak entered the game at the same time as Plumlee, meaning he also got around three minutes of PT. Nothing to report regarding his play, but watch him on the bench in future Bucks games. You’ll see he’s always talking, and is often the most fired up when someone makes a good play. Next: Jason Kidd
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Head Coach
Jason Kidd
Coach, Milwaukee Bucks
B+Kidd was dealt a tough blow with the absence of both Rashad Vaughn and Michael Beasley (the latter being a game-time scratch), which shortened his rotation. However, he did a nice job maintaining focus with a lead at halftime, preventing the Bucks from letting up on the gas early as they have been known to do this season. Not a minute of game time passed without Giannis or Jabari on the floor until the contest was far past decided, which is especially important for a bench lineup missing Beasley. Because of the wide margin of victory, there’s not much we can judge Kidd on, but there aren’t any issues I had.Next: Washington Wizards
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Opposition
Washington Wizards
Southeast, 13-16
The Bucks return back to .500 with a win here, and will be off until they face the Wizards again on Monday in D.C.
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