Young Bucks Tracker: Tony Snell finds his scoring touch
With two-thirds of the roster born in 1990 or later, the Milwaukee Bucks are a young, growing team. Every Thursday for the rest of the season, FOX Sports Wisconsin will take a closer look at the players that are 25 years old and younger (for the most part, those still in their first four NBA seasons), measuring, highlighting and evaluating their progress.
This is the 17th edition of the 2016-17 Young Bucks Tracker.
(A glossary of the advanced statistics used for season totals, which are from basketball-reference.com. can be found at the end of this article)
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO (Age 22, fourth season)
Statistical season averages: 35.4 minutes, 23.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.9 blocks, 52.7 FG%, 27.6 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 33.8 minutes, 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.0 blocks, 46.2 FG%, 25.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 26.4 PER, 60.8 percent TS%, 28.1 percent USG%, 118 ORtg, 104 DRtg, 6.0 VORP.
Notable: Hard to believe the above stats from the last seven days can be considered a down week, but Antetokounmpo's high in points for the week was "only" 21 as foul trouble limited him some, especially against Minnesota and the Clippers. Antetokounmpo's VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) is now third in the NBA, behind just Russell Westbrook (9.9) and James Harden (7.6).
MALCOLM BROGDON (Age 24, first season)
Statistical season averages: 25.9 minutes, 10.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.1 blocks, 44.8 FG%, 42.1 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 29.0 minutes, 13.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.5 blocks, 50.0 FG%, 50.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 14.5 PER, 55.0 percent TS%, 18.6 percent USG%, 110 ORtg, 111 DRtg, 0.5 VORP.
Notable: A back injury sidelined Brogdon for two games but it didn't slow him down upon his return. He had 15 points and eight assists at Memphis and 11 points and five assists against the L.A. Clippers. Those games got Brodgon to the magical 10.0 points per game on the season. Why magical? No Rookie of the Year has ever averaged under 10 points per game.
THON MAKER (Age 20, first season)
Statistical season averages: 8.1 minutes, 3.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.1 steals, 0.4 blocks, 42.0 FG%, 41.8 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 7.1 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.0 steals, 0.5 blocks, 37.5 FG%, 40.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 13.0 PER, 54.1 percent TS%, 18.7 percent USG%, 111 ORtg, 109 DRtg, -0.1 VORP.
Notable: Maker started all four games this past week but played more than 8 minutes just once (11 at Memphis).
KHRIS MIDDLETON (Age 25, fifth season)
Statistical season averages: 28.1 minutes, 14.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.3 blocks, 47.9 FG%, 44.7 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 34.2 minutes, 14.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.3 blocks, 41.0 FG%, 37.5 3PT%.
Advanced stats: 17.5 PER, 61.8 percent TS%, 22.1 percent USG%, 114 ORtg, 109 DRtg, 0.3 VORP.
Notable: Middleton played in over 31 minutes in all four games last week and his production was slightly down, although he did make half of his shots against Indiana and the L.A. Clippers (which were also, not coincidentally, his highest scoring games of the week at 21 and 16 points).
TONY SNELL (Age 25, fourth season)
Statistical season averages: 28.9 minutes, 8.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.2 blocks, 45.6 FG%, 40.6 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 29..4 minutes, 11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.0 blocks, 50.0 FG%, 42.1 3PT%.
Advanced stats: 9.9 PER, 60.6 percent TS%, 12.0 percent USG%, 115 ORtg, 113 DRtg, 0.7 VORP.
Notable: Snell scored in double figures in five straight games -- he's never had a longer stretch in his career -- before it came to an end Wednesday night when he tallied just seven points in Los Angeles in what was a rare off-shooting night. Snell's best game of the week came at home in the win over Minnesota, when he made 6 of 9 shots, hit four 3-pointers and had 19 points and six rebounds.
RASHAD VAUGHN (Age 20, second season)
Statistical season averages: 11.1 minutes, 3.2 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.2 blocks, 36.0 FG%, 31.7 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 16.8 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.3 blocks, 42.9 FG%, 0.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 7.5 PER, 44.8 percent TS%, 15.7 percent USG%, 90 ORtg, 110 DRtg, -0.2 VORP.
Notable: With Malcolm Brogdon out due to injury, Vaughn played over 23 minutes in Milwaukee's first two gamaes of the week. While he struggled against Indiana, Vaughn had 10 points -- his most since scoring 14 against Sacramento on Nov 5 -- on 5-of-9 shooting against Minnesota. However, he played only 2 minutes at Memphis and an injury sidelined him vs. the Clippers.
Others: Terrence Jones played 2 minutes at Memphis, his only action thus far since signing with the Bucks.
Out for the season: Jabari Parker.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
PER -- Player Efficiency Rating: A measure of per-minute production standardized such that the league average is 15.
TS% -- True Shooting Percentage: A measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account 2-point field goals, 3-point field goals, and free throws.
USG% -- Usage Percentage: An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he was on the floor.
ORtg -- Offensive Rating: An estimate of points produced per 100 possessions.
DRtg -- Defensive Rating: An estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions.
VORP -- Value over Replacement Player: A box score estimate of the points per 100 TEAM possessions that a player contributed above a replacement-level (-2.0) player, translated to an average team and prorated to an 82-game season.
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