Unheralded Bucks’ Brogdon trending towards possible future All-Star
Welcome to the 2018-19 edition of the Young Bucks Tracker. Each Thursday we'll either track the progress of the players who might be of help to the Bucks in the future from the Wisconsin Herd or a current member of the Milwaukee roster. We'll also give updates on the other young players from the previous week.
This is the 15th edition of the 2018-19 Young Bucks Tracker.
SPOTLIGHT ON …
Guard Malcolm Brogdon
On a team featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe, Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton, Brogdon can get a little lost in the limelight and headlines.
But not here.
Brogdon continues to do the little stuff and post good numbers despite being the third-, or fourth-, or even fifth-wheel on a Bucks team which owns the best record in the NBA at the All-Star break.
Brogdon might not be an All-Star this year, but he's trending in that possible direction. The former second-round pick has increased his scoring average, rebounding average, field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage in each of his first three seasons (albeit this year isn't over yet).
In 53 games this season, Brogdon is averaging 15.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists while still maintaining the rare 50-40-90 -- 50+ percent shooting from the field (50.6 percent), 40+ percent shooting from 3 (40.8 percent) and 90+ percent shooting from the line (93.8 percent).
Already a good protector of the ball, Brogdon has also decreased his turnover percentage in each of his first three seasons, down to 10.5 percent in 2018-19. In Milwaukee's last two games, Brogdon didn't turn over the ball once despite playing 30 minutes in each contest. He's had no turnovers in six of his last 15 games and just one in five others over that span.
Brogdon has scored in double figures in 12 straight games and in his last 26 games, dating back to Dec. 19, he's scored in single digits just once (nine points at Memphis on Jan. 16). In four games this past week, Brogdon scored 18, 14, 17 and 17 points (16.5 average). His 16.5-point scoring average and 14.3 combined box score +/- were second on the team to only Antetokounmpo.
That's pretty good company to keep. Maybe one day they'll be keeping the same company in an All-Star Game.
BUCKSHOTS
-- This week in Antetokounmpo: Giannis recorded his fifth triple-double Wednesday at Indiana, tying his own franchise record in a single season. His 19 rebounds were the most by any NBA player this season in a triple-double game. Four times this season a player has had 18 or more rebounds while compiling a triple-double. Antetokounmpo has two those. He also averaged 30.3 points (on 63.0 percent shooting), 13.7 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.7 blocks in his three games. Antetokounmpo has had 25+ points, 15+ rebounds and 5+ assists in three straight games, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl-Anthony Towns to accomplish that feat since 1976-77.
-- Two of Milwaukee's last three losses -- dating back to Jan. 11 at Washington -- have come when Antetokounmpo sat out to rest. The Bucks are 14-1 in the other contests since then.
-- Guard Trevon Duval, who is on a two-way contract, made his NBA debut Feb. 8 at Dallas, scoring two points. He then appeared in the next two Bucks' games and has five points, two assists and one rebound in six minutes, an offensive rating of 179 (OK, small sample size). Duval played one year at Duke, where he averaged 10.3 points and 5.6 assists. In 31 games for the Wisconsin Herd, Duval is averaging 12.2 points.
-- This week in Christian Wood in the G League: 45 points on 18-of-25 shooting and 20 rebounds in a win over Canton on Feb. 10 and 30 points and 12 rebounds at Windy City on Feb. 14.
