Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks: Player Power Rankings (Dec. 29-Jan. 4)

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:08 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Lukas Harkins/FanSided via Behind the Buck Pass

Ending this week on a three game winning streak with a 3-1 record, this was a very positive week for the Milwaukee Bucks as they keep moving in the right direction.

Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Week in Review (3-1)

L: Milwaukee Bucks, 99 @ Minnesota Timberwolves, 116

W: Milwaukee Bucks, 116 @ Chicago Bulls, 96

W: Oklahoma City Thunder, 94 @ Milwaukee Bucks, 98

W: Milwaukee Bucks, 105 @ New York Knicks, 104

Milwaukee Bucks Tweet of the Week:

Seemingly every Bucks’ fan has already read this article in all of its greatness, but if you haven’t be sure to take a peek. This is an excellent article on the rise to glory of our very own Giannis Antetokounmpo. And while we are on the topic of the Greek Freak, go #NBAVote. (And do the same for Jabari Parker.)

Despite the loss to Minnesota on the road, but Bucks looked the part of a top team in the east this week, closing with three straight wins, two of which were nail-biters. Giannis keeps showing that he is capable of wowing us in different ways each and every night, and there is no better example of that than the fadeaway step-up jumper he hit at the buzzer to knock off the Knicks on Wednesday night.

And because I cannot choose which broadcast I like more, here are two shots of the game-winner, one called by Gus Johnson, and the other by Ted Davis:

On top of the play of the Greek Freak, the other stars of the week that will be mentioned later in this article were Jabari Parker (of course), Greg Monroe, and Malcolm Brogdon. Without Matthew Dellavedova, the Bucks needed Brogdon to play big minutes and he came through, even providing his first career triple-double in the absence of Outback Jesus.

Monroe, on the other hand, benefitted from the great play of his buddy Brogdon, as he saw extended playing time as well due to their great on and off-court chemistry. Oh, and Jabari continues to be Jabari, and while we’re on the subject of Jabari, go #NBAVote.

Now let’s get going with the player rankings!

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Matthew Dellavedova

PG

Last week: DNP-InjuryLast rank: 6

I’m sorry to do this to Delly, but as he did not play this week, he finds himself at the bottom of the Player Rankings. Hopefully he bounces back soon because even though Brogdon has been playing great, Delly is a great presence and leader for the team. His statistics for the year are down from what most people expected, but his leadership is something that sometimes goes unnoticed. He seems to be doing a great job mentoring Malcolm as well, which could make our already pretty solid guard core even better.Next: 12. Miles Plumlee

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Miles Plumlee

C

Last week: 2 GP: 3.5 mins/0.0 pts/0.5 rebs/0.0 astsLast rank: 12

Plumlee actually played a few first half minutes on Wednesday and boy, did he fail to take advantage of them! Miles had another rough week as he is still buried on the bench and received a negative game score from this week, the only Buck to do so.Next: 11. Thon Maker

Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Thon Maker

C

Last week: 2 GP: 4.0 mins/1.5 pts/0.0 rebs/0.0 astsLast rank: 10

Thon Maker went out and made another three this week. For those of us counting, the shot-Maker is now 4-for-8 from three and 50 percent for the season. Plus, and although this practically means nothing with his few minutes played, Thon holds a PER of 19.3, and is still holding per-36 minute numbers of 19.3 points and 11.6 rebounds. To put a damper on it, though, he has no assists to this point.Next: 10. Steve Novak

Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Novak

PF

Last week: 2 GP: 2.5 mins/2.5 pts/0.0 rebs/0.0 astsLast rank: 13

The leading scorer of the week from the DNPs (sort of), Steve Novak was 2-for-2 from the field and made his only three. The crowd favorite was in full effect for a total of five minutes and is making everyone wonder why he isn’t playing more minutes (nobody is thinking that).Next: 9. Tony Snell

Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Tony Snell

SG

Last week: 4 GP: 26.0 mins/4.0 pts/1.5 rebs/1.0 astsLast rank: 5

Falling down to the last spot among those who played significant minutes, this was not a good week for Tony Snell. His defense was as good as ever, especially when guarding Russell Westbrook the other night, but his scoring and offensive numbers need to see a boost. When one of your starters (at the SHOOTING guard position) scores under five points per game for a four game stretch, that is not too great. Plus, he was a brutal 4/13 from three-point land, which is supposedly his best offensivee part of his game. He shot just 29.4 percent from the field on the week, and it would be nice if his offense would start to catch up to his defense.Next: 8. Jason Terry

Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Terry

SG

Last week: 4 GP: 22.3 mins/4.5 pts/1.0 rebs/2.0 astsLast rank: 9

Without Delly playing this week, the Jet saw his minutes increase this week, and he took advantage of that time. There are no high volume numbers from the veteran, but he was 5/9 from three, which is more than respectable. He is not the quickest of players anymore, but he can become the go-to knockdown shooter off the bench as a guard. Delly and Brogdon are called upon to be distributors and floor generals pretty often, but Terry can play 15-20 solid minutes per night and help the team win.Next: 7. John Henson

Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

John Henson

C

Last week: 4 GP: 18.8 mins/4.8 pts/3.3 rebs/0.8 astsLast rank: 8

Like Snell, Henson is a starter, but not putting up starter-like production. J-Hook has never been a high usage player, and to be fair, he shot the ball pretty reasonably this week (9/14 for 64.3 percent), but it is his rebounding that hurts. Giannis is a great player and snags a lot of rebounds, but Henson is the starting center, and it is puzzling that he pulls down less than four rebounds per game in a week. His minutes greatly decreased this week, as Greg Monroe (more on him later) jumped in minutes due to his strong play. Henson does a lot of nice things on the floor, but even his blocked shots fell to just two this week.Next: 6. Michael Beasley

Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Beasley

PF

Last week: 3 GP: 13.3 mins/7.0 pts/3.0 rebs/1.0 astsLast rank: 7

B-Easy played in three of the four games this week, but was on the whole effective. He shot over 50 percent from the field and buried one of his two trifectas. He also averaged nearly a double-double on a per-36 minute basis for this week, which is pretty solid for the forward. And even though the Bucks played four games (three with Beasley), he only played for 40 minutes, so it is not easy to give a true assessment of his play. Beasley was solid, nothing more, nothing less.Next: 5. Mirza Teletovic

Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Mirza Teletovic

PF

Last week: 4 GP: 19.5 mins/9.0 pts/2.3 rebs/1.0 astsLast rank: 11

Mirza is 9/21 from deep (42.9 percent) and leading the team in made threes. This stretch of games is exactly why Mirza Teletovic was brought into Milwaukee this offseason. He was accurate from behind the arc and totaled nearly double digits per game for the week. Mirza’s minutes have gone down from last season to this, but his three-point shooting has really stayed around his career average. Fearza the Mirza is doing everything that the Bucks expected out of him, and that makes him a valuable asset for the future.Next: 4. Malcolm Brogdon

Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Malcolm Brogdon

President Guard

Last week: 4 GP: 35.8 mins/12.5 pts/5.8 rebs/7.3 astsLast rank: 4

Greg Monroe

C

Last week: 4 GP: 26.5 mins/14.0 pts/7.3 rebs/2.3 astsLast rank: 3

In accordance with the minutes boost for Brogdon, his friend Greg Monroe also jumped in minutes. Moose is still coming off the bench, but dominated Henson in terms of total minutes this week. While shooting the fourth-most shots on the team (Jabari, Giannis, Malcolm took more), Monroe was 55.8 percent from the field and flashed his all-around game with solid rebounding, passing, and defense. Monroe actually led the team (not Giannis this time) in steals for the week with six. It was not a good week for him at the free throw line, where he was just 8-for-18, including a miss at the end of the Knicks game that would have tied it. Who cares, though? Without that miss, we probably don’t get the buzzer beater by Giannis. Great week by Greg.Next: 2. Jabari Parker

Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Jabari Parker

PF

Last week: 4 GP: 39.0 mins/20.3 pts/5.3 rebs/2.8 astsLast rank: 2

This was also another solid week for Jabari dimes. After averaging just 1.7 assists in each of his first two seasons in the NBA, Major Cat is up to 2.4 this season, which is a testament to how he has grown as a player and teammate.

Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Giannis Antetokounmpo

SF

Last week: 4 GP: 38.0 mins/28.3 pts/9.8 rebs/5.3 astsLast rank: 1

Minutes: 2nd,
Points: 1st,
Rebounds: 1st,
Assists: 2nd,
FTM: 1st,
Blocks: 1st (and by 10 I might add),

This is the major key from him this week though:
Fouls: T-4th.

Giannis was once again terrific, and that decrease in fouls down to less than two per game this week was tremendous. If he can stay out of foul trouble like he did this week, he can stay aggressive in games for longer and take advantage of his amount of minutes.

Check back next week for another edition of the Bucks’ player power rankings!

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Matthew Dellavedova

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Thon Maker

Tony Snell