Milwaukee Bucks Player of the Week (Dec 11. – Dec 17.)
The Milwaukee Bucks rebounded from a tough few games last week to the tune of two wins in three games in week eight. Three players basked in the glory of the team’s success. Read along to find out who they were.
Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
The Milwaukee Bucks took care of business in the eighth week of the regular season. They got beat handily by a superior team in the Toronto Raptors to start the week off. However, they followed that tough loss with two key wins over their rival, the Chicago Bulls.
When the Bucks beat the Bulls life is good in the eyes of Milwaukee fans. When they do it twice in consecutive games it’s cause for a mini celebration. It you see a lot of people smiling as they shovel their driveways in southern Wisconsin over the next few days you’ll certainly know why.
The quality of basketball and energy on the court were consistent with the previous week but the results were markedly improved. Milwaukee lost three games last week by a total of 10 points. This week those close losses became impressive wins, if you choose to look past the shellacking courtesy of the Raptors.
When the Bucks play well and give it their all there will always be a solid selection for player of the week. Some players have consistently found there way onto this list all season. So the fun part becomes who can crash the party and upset the natural order of things.
This week is more of the same in the top two slots. The third position in the rankings was much more contested, like it has been since the season began. Three gentlemen duked it out to claim the final spot amongst the weekly Bucks elite.
So lets get to it and see who locked up the third spot!
Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Milwaukee Bucks Player of the Week Rankings
Moose played in all three games this week and averaged 20.3 minutes, 10.7 points (on 53.8 percent shooting from the field), 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steal. He was second on the team in rebounds and third in both points and steals. Additionally, he was tied for third in plus/minus (+4.7).
Greg Monroe is becoming an incredibly consistent contributor for the Bucks. To illustrate this just take a look at what I wrote about Greg in the week six player of the week piece – “Moose played in all four games this week and averaged 20.8 minutes, 10.0 points (on 57.1 percent shooting from the field), 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 steals.”
The minutes, points, shooting percentage, rebounds, and assists are almost identical and the steals are present, though obviously better in week six. What this means is Moose is cognizant of and very engaged in his role. He does a lot on the court in just 20 minutes of action.
Monroe’s defense has flourished this season. He isn’t averaging three-plus steaks (blocks and steals) per game like the most elite defenders are capable of but he does his job over and over and over. It is not sexy but it is effective. His defensive rating of 100.1 from this week demonstrates that fact.
The man can steal the basketball. The impact that is beginning to have on opposing offenses is huge. In the past, Moose was rarely able to impede the offense players. Now he is taking possessions away from them and starting fast breaks for the young Bucks.
Along with the improved defense comes all the other skills we know and love from Greg:
A lot of people were calling for Monroe’s head after last season, and rightfully so. But this season Bucks fans should be singing a different song. Monroe has shown multiple times this year that he can fit into this team. If he wanted to stay after his contract is up the Bucks would be wise to do what they can to keep him around.
He is a luxury to have off the bench. Expect him to frequently make the player of the week rankings as the calendar turns to 2017. He certainly did it a lot in 2016.
Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Milwaukee Bucks Player of the Week Rankings
The kid from Chicago played in all three games this week and averaged 32.2 minutes, 22.3 points (on 63.6 percent shooting), 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals. He was second on the team in both points and steals.
Jabari Parker gets buckets. That’s really all that needs to be said. He makes NBA defenses look like swiss cheese more often than not.
Not many professional basketball players are able to attempt multiple threes a game and make 60 percent or more of them. Jabari joined the ranks of the seven players to do that this week in the NBA.
His shooting prowess seems to have totally caught up to his shooting pedigree. Parker was a strong shooter in high school and college but that did not immediately translate to the pros. Over the course of this season, Jabari is showing us what we all forgot. He is showing us he can be a marksman.
But his elite shooting efficiency was not just seen beyond the arc. Jabari put better than six-of-ten shots in the basket this week. In fact, for players who attempted five shots or more per game this week, Parker had the 13th best shooting percentage. If you bump up the attempts to 10 or more Jabari had the second best shooting percentage.
That masterful offense buoys the lack of much other contribution from Parker. He did provide some energy and effort on defense and came away with more than one steal per game but beyond that there just wasn’t much to see.
That is the kind of player Parker is right now. He scores first, second, and third. Everything else comes after. Luckily that is exactly what the Bucks drafted him for. So keep getting those buckets Major Cat.
Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Milwaukee Bucks Player of the Week Rankings
The Greek Freak played in all three games this week and averaged 37.7 minutes, 27.3 points (on 54.0 percent shooting), 10.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 3.0 steals, and 0.7 blocks. He led the team in points, rebounds, and steals, and was second on the team in assists and blocks. Additionally, he led the team in plus/minus (+11).
As far as Giannis Antetokounmpo weeks go, this one was pretty bland. He didn’t have any triple-doubles or lead his team in all five major statistical categories. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, a dull week for Giannis is an all-time best week for most NBA players.
Along with Giannis, only DeMarcus Cousins, Karl Anthony-Towns, Kevin Love, and James Harden averaged at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game in their past three. Additionally, Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and John Wall were the only players to average at least 20 points, six assists, and a steal per game this week. Like usual, Giannis keeps only the most elite basketball talent as company.
The points, rebounds, assists, and steals were down right outstanding. But the shooting percentages on top of it were nothing to scoff at. The Greek Freak made over 50 percent of field goals, exactly 40 percent of his threes, and over 70 percent of his free throws. The free throw percentage is a mild bummer there but the rest show excellent efficiency.
The biggest positive in Giannis’ week might have been his ability to limit turnovers. Antetokounmpo has averaged 3.3 turnovers per game over the course of this season. In his past three games he averaged 0.7 turnovers. This notable decrease led to him having one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios over a multi game span (9.5) in his young career. His assist-to-turnover ratio was the best on the team and the second best in the NBA this week.
The counting stats weren’t the only thing that looked good. Antetokounmpo’s advanced stats were excellent too. He had the best offensive rating (117.1) and the fourth best defensive rating (100.7) on the team. His usage rate of 28.9 paced the Bucks and his true shooting percentage of 59.3 was second on the team.
The Greek Freak had a player player impact estimate (PIE) of 20.8, the fifth highest mark in the association on that stat in the past three games. PIE measures a player’s overall statistical contribution against the total statistics in games they play in. PIE yields results which are comparable to other advanced statistics (e.g. PER) using a simple formula. Only Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook had better PIE scores than Antetokounmpo.
The Alphabet has been at the top of the player of the week rankings for eight straight weeks to kick this season off. It is an impressive feat that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Every performance Giannis gives us is similar yet so unique. The way he dominates is different every single game since he can literally do everything on the court. He is a special player.
Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Week 8 Wrap Up
If you have been paying attention to the player of the week rankings over the course of the season you can tell Giannis is the best. But if you look closer you’ll notice that both Jabari and Greg have been in over half of the rankings so far.
Without Khris Middleton, Greg Monroe has stepped up to play a role as the final member of the Bucks ‘big three’ this season. He has meshed into this team really well, stepping back from the things that were inhibiting Giannis and Jabari last year and picking up a lot of different skills that have consistently helped the team this season.
In large part because of Monroe, the Milwaukee Bucks bench has scored the eighth most points on the seventh best field goal percentage this season. Guys like Malcolm Brogdon, Mirza Teletovic, and Michael Beasley have been great role players off of the bench too.
The Bucks sit above 0.500 and squarely in the Eastern playoff race. There is no doubt they are a better team than last season. But it is still unknown how good this team is.
Next week Milwaukee gets two matchups with the class of the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers. If they can split those games with one win and one loss we will have a better idea of just how good Milwaukee is likely to be this season. If they lose both it probably means the team is still at least a year away from competing with the NBA’s upper echelon.
Tune in next week to find out how it goes.
Player of the Week Rankings over the course of the season
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