National Basketball Association

Milwaukee Bucks: Five Takeaways From The Dallas Mavericks Game

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:48 p.m. ET

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The Milwaukee Bucks got an easy win over the Dallas Mavericks in Madison. Here are the biggest five takeaways from that game.

Oct 8, 2016; Madison, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd talks with Milwaukee Bucks forward Thon Maker (7) during the game with the Dallas Mavericks at the Kohl Center. Milwaukee defeated Dallas 88-74. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Bucks have (knocks on wood) looked pretty good thus far in two preseason games. Even without glue guy Khris Middleton, Milwaukee is 2-0 in the pointless games.

Milwaukee struggled early against the Chicago Bulls in their first preseason contest, but had no such struggles against Dallas. The Bucks jumped out to an early advantage, allowed Dallas to come back and then started to really take off.

Milwaukee led by ten after two quarters, sporting a 42-32 lead after the first half. That would only grow in the second period, as the Bucks cruised to an 88-74 victory over Dallas.

There were a lot of noteworthy events in this game, so to further explain exactly what happened we’ll go through the five biggest takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks. This was an exciting game for the Bucks for a few reasons–maybe even more than five–but these will be the most vital bit of information from the big Bucks win.

Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

Jabari Parker Had Himself A Game

Rick Carlisle told the Dallas News that the Bucks were young, fast and ready to explode:

“They’re the anti-Dallas. They’re young and fast. We’re old and experienced. It’s contrasting rosters. It’s a good game for us to play right now. They’re a young team that’s getting ready to explode, I think.”

Carlisle was right. Jabari Parker especially was young and fast, and he exploded through the Mavericks defense repeatedly in Madison. It took Jabari just 14 shots and 24 minutes to rack up 21 points, many of them coming on massive dunks.

These weren’t open, fast break looks either. Over and over again, Jabari simply powered through whatever defense stood foolishly in his way. At one point he actually dunked so hard he hit himself in the head with the rim.

Ouch. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen somebody dunk so forcefully and also get high enough to pull the rim into their head. The athleticism Jabari has is legitimately incredible–he’s clearly 100 percent back from that ACL tear at this point.

Jabari also added a less-painful six rebounds, one steal and one block while leading the Bucks in plus/minus with a resounding plus 17. Jabari should be poised to have a huge breakout season with the Bucks this year, as long as he can keep that swelling down.

TFW you dunk so hard you gotta ice your head… pic.twitter.com/qluuedV0Sz

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 9, 2016

Next: Thon Belongs

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Moment Wasn’t Too Big For Thon Maker

One of the biggest concerns about Thon Maker from the jump was his lack of experience against quality competition. Before participating in some NBA Draft/combine events, the best competition he faced was Canadian high schoolers.

Obviously there was reason to be concerned that it’d take time for Thon to keep up with NBA competition. And in fairness, he hasn’t really faced any yet still. That being said, it was encouraging to see Thon not only keep up, but actually have a damn good game against the Mavericks.

Just because it wasn’t a regular season game doesn’t mean the competition wasn’t NBA caliber. This was a real NBA team the Bucks were playing, and Thon still managed nine points, four rebounds and a block.

Only Jabari Parker had a better plus/minus than Thon. Milwaukee was 13 points better than Dallas with their Maker on the floor. It’s still too early to say he’s ready for nightly NBA action, but thus far Thon Maker hasn’t shown anything that indicates he won’t be. That alone is fantastic news, considering just how raw the 19-year-old position-less wonder is.

Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

New Season, New Greg Monroe

Greg Monroe looks a lot different this season. He lost about 15 lbs this summer, prompting someone to remark to Jon McGlocklin that he thought Monroe was Jabari Parker from a distance!

He still isn’t the explosive leaper Jabari is, but skinny Monroe is a much more active player, especially on the defensive end. He’s still not good at help defense, but if a player drives towards him Monroe showed off a new skill on Saturday–the strip.

Moose racked up four steals, at least a couple of them coming on him simply taking the ball away from a player driving towards the rim. That’s important for a few reasons. The first is that any fast breaks are huge for the Bucks–with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari running the break, it’s nearly impossible to stop them.

Secondly, it shows that Monroe is working on finding ways around his inability to protect the rim. Monroe gets ragged on for not having the verticality to block shots, but if he can steal the ball before the offensive player gets a chance to raise it above his head then Monroe can still protect the rim, just in a less athletic manner.

He still won’t be finding himself on Defensive Player of the Year ballots, but Monroe might just become a key contributor for the Bucks going forward. If he stays this energized throughout the season it’ll be fascinating to see what he can do.

Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

Malcolm Brogdon Is All Substance, No Flash

Malcolm Brogdon did not light up the box score in the Bucks/Mavericks game. He scored four points and dished six assists in the win, and also tallied a rebound and a block.

Despite his statistics not overwhelming anybody, only Thon and Jabari had a better plus/minus than the President of the Bucks did on Saturday night. Milwaukee was 12 points better than Dallas with Brogdon on the floor.

Even when he’s not playing well, Brogdon is always engaged. He never loses focus, he never seems to get down on himself–he just keeps working. His attitude and demeanor are all business, and it makes his team better.

Ever since his disappointing Summer League shooting percentages it’s looked like it’d take Brogdon a bit to get acclimated with NBA basketball. It still looks like that, at least in terms of his offense.

His work ethic and instincts are fully formed though, and Brogdon is as good of a defender as he was billed as being. He brings much-needed stability to the floor whenever he’s in the game. It’ll be thrilling to see him once his shot catches up to where his mental game already is.

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Rashad Vaughn Was “Hurt”, Miles Plumlee Barely Played

Miles Plumlee and Rashad Vaughn were two of the most disappointing performers in the Bucks first preseason game against the Chicago Bulls. Vaughn was apparently hurt and did not play in the game at all.

Rashad Vaughn listed as questionable with a sprained ankle in Bucks game notes: https://t.co/88ZJtKQwop

— FrankMadden (@brewhoop) October 8, 2016

It did not take long for the conspiracy theories to make their way to the forefront. Considering the reports that Milwaukee is looking to make a deal at the moment, they’re not unfounded.