Milwaukee Bucks: Grades From 107-100 Loss To The Atlanta Hawks


The Milwaukee Bucks failed to continue their winning ways on the road in Atlanta on Wednesday night. Let’s take a closer look at how the players fared in the contest.
Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
Hawks | 21 | 31 | 32 | 23 | 107 |
Bucks | 26 | 9 | 35 | 30 | 100 |
The Milwaukee Bucks outplayed the Atlanta Hawks in three of the four quarters of the game on Wednesday in Atlanta. Unfortunately, the margin in the quarter that they did not win was too large to overcome.
In the second quarter, the Bucks were held scoreless for the first 6:09, and ended up losing the quarter by 22 points. The Bucks made only three shots from the field in the period and were 0/9 from beyond the arc.
Contributions from the bench were few and far between in the game, and considering their role in digging the mammoth hole the Bucks found themselves in, it is not too hard to understand why most of the subs saw very limited action in the game.
Let’s take a look at how the players graded out for the game.
Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Starters
Matthew Dellavedova
G, Milwaukee Bucks
C+Matthew Dellavedova played a solid game. He did not shoot the ball particularly well, making only three of his nine shots, but he did record seven assists to only one turnover. If he had made a couple more of his shots, I think it would have been a perfect example of what the Bucks were looking for when they signed him; take a bit of pressure off of Giannis, make smart plays and play with fire.
Tony Snell
G, Milwaukee Bucks
C+Tony Snell did Tony Snell things on Wednesday evening. He shot the ball from beyond the arc, though not terribly well, hitting just two of his seven attempts. He grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists, and came up with two steals all in 30 minutes of action. Snell rarely seems to make much of an impression on games, and Wednesday in Atlanta was no exception. He is certainly more effective than the Bucks other options at shooting guard (see Vaughn, Rashad and Terry, Jason), but that is not really the bar you want to set for your starting shooting guard.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
G/F, Milwaukee Bucks
AGiannis had another of his typical nights; 26 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and a steal. But all you really need to know to highlight the importance of Giannis to the Bucks is his plus/minus of +4, which came in 40 minutes of action. The Bucks lost the game by seven, so in the eight minutes of time Giannis spent on the bench, the Bucks were outscored by 11. 40 minutes a night for Giannis is not sustainable over the course of the season, so hopefully we won’t see too much of it going forward.
Jabari Parker
F, Milwaukee Bucks
B+Jabari had a rough start shooting the ball, in part because he kept trying to force his way to the hoop. He got neither buckets nor foul calls employing this strategy, and ended the first half with only two points on 1/6 shooting from the field. The second half saw a different approach by Parker, however. Jabari took the open mid-range jump shots that the Atlanta Hawks presented him with, which then opened lanes for him to get to the basket. In the third quarter alone, Jabari took eight shots, half of which were jumpers. He made three of the jumpers, and seven shots total in the period. Jabari finished the game with 23 points, and he also grabbed eight rebounds. Hopefully, he will be able to carry the lesson of the second half forward and start games the way he came out after halftime. When Jabari is taking the jump shots that defenses give him, he can be nearly unstoppable.
John Henson
C, Milwaukee Bucks
CJohn Henson got his second consecutive start at center for the Bucks, but he was not as effective as he was in the first. Henson struggled to catch the ball in the lane and finish, and he allowed the defense to collapse on him while he tried to gather himself.Next: Bench
Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Bench
Mirza Teletovic
F, Milwaukee Bucks
BMirza Teletovic had a mini hot streak in the fourth quarter, when he hit three from downtown in rapid succession. He finished the game with 14 points, so the bulk of his scoring for the game came in that brief flurry, which helped vault the Bucks back into the game.
Greg Monroe
C, Milwaukee Bucks
DGreg Monroe had a rough night against Atlanta. With Dwight Howard ruled out of the game, it seemed like the opportunity would be there for Monroe to rack up some points in the post, but he was unable to get things going, shooting just 1/4 from the field in just 7 minutes on the court.
Malcolm Brogdon
G, Milwaukee Bucks
B-In his first professional game in his hometown, Malcolm Brogdon was not quite what we have come to expect in the first few weeks of the season. He was still fairly solid taking care of the ball, but he did not shoot the ball very well.
Michael Beasley
F, Milwaukee Bucks
DMichael Beasley followed up his best game of the season with a real clunker. In four minutes, he did not score and committed two turnovers.
Miles Plumlee
C, Milwaukee Bucks
D+Miles Plumlee was ineffective in limited minutes in Atlanta. He did open the scoring for the Bucks in the second quarter; unfortunately it happened with 5:51 remaining in the period.
Jason Terry
G, Milwaukee Bucks
FIn eight minutes on Wednesday Jason Terry did not hit a shot, grab a rebound or record an assist. He did commit two personal fouls, one on a jump shooting Kyle Korver, and finished with a +/- of -11.
Rashad Vaughn
G, Milwaukee Bucks
FRashad Vaughn got more minutes than Jason Terry in this contest, but he contributed nearly as little as Terry to the team on Wednesday. In 13 minutes, Vaughn missed all six of his shots, including four from beyond the arc. He did grab one board and make a steal, so there was that.Next: Jason Kidd
Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Head Coach
Jason Kidd
Coach, Milwaukee Bucks
C-The staggering of minutes between Giannis and Jabari has really been the only thing in Jason Kidd’s rotation that has occurred with any consistency in the last week or so. After 19 excellent minutes against Memphis, Michael Beasley saw only four minutes of time on the floor against Atlanta. Greg Monroe played only seven minutes, while Miles Plumlee only got fives minutes of burn. This lack of defined roles can make it really difficult for players to get comfortable with what is expected of them, which can lead to inconsistent play as well. With that said, the Bucks did battle back from an abysmal second quarter thanks, in part, to adjustments made to the rotation. It can be very frustrating to see some of the lineups that end up on the floor, seemingly at random. Or to look at the box score and see that Jason Terry logged more minutes than either Monroe or Plumlee. But this team does not quit, and they do not complain.Next: Atlanta Hawks
Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Opposition
Atlanta Hawks
Southeast, 9-2
Next on the Bucks’ schedule is a match-up against the Miami Heat on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. in Miami.
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