National Basketball Association

Milwaukee Bucks: Grades From 110-108 Win Over Brooklyn Nets

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Milwaukee Bucks snatched a W out of the grasp of overtime against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 2, but how did the players, coach and opposition grade?

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

After taking the loss in the season opener against the Charlotte Hornets, the Milwaukee Bucks have moved back up to .500 for the season with a win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.

The team saw Tony Snell receive his first action of the new season as he started the game and chipped in with 21 pretty solid minutes. Overall, it was once again a game dominated by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds, tallying his first double-double of the season.

Outside of Giannis, the team saw the best game of Rashad Vaughn‘s young career in this one. While dropping six threes (on 12 attempts) in 27 minutes, Vaughn definitely capitalized on his opportunities and ended the game with a career-high and team-high 22 points. It is safe to say that if Vaughn starts playing like he did in this game, maybe the 20-year-old really does have a bright future with the team.

On the other hand, not everything was perfect in the victory. In fact, it was far from it. Once again, Miles Plumlee started the game at center and looked dreadful, resulting in another game of under 10 minutes played. For a man who is making $12-million this season, he needs to start putting up more production on both ends of the floor.

Along with some rotational woes, the defense struggled mightily in this one again. The Nets did not shoot the ball well from deep (just 11-35), but they missed plenty of open looks. The Bucks need to do a better job defending along the perimeter and taking note of shooters, or they will really struggle against the premier shooting teams in the league.

But overall, a win is a win. And with 80 games left to go, there is plenty of room and time for improvement.

Now let’s take a closer look at the action and find out what grades we give to Milwaukee’s players, Jason Kidd, and the Brooklyn Nets!

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Starters

Matthew Dellavedova

G, Milwaukee Bucks

B+For the second game in a row, Matthew Dellavedova was shut down from behind the arc. Delly is known as an outstanding catch-and-shoot three-point shooter, yet only has one made three-pointer in his first two games with the team. But that did not stop him in this one. Using a variety of moves, most notably his signature floater, Delly finished with 14 points on 5-10 shooting from the floor. However, it was not his scoring that was his best part of the game. While handling much of the ball handling duties for the team, he #DellyDimed nine assists while only committing one turnover. That kind of game management and poise at the point guard slot is something that the team can really use moving forward. As per usual, he was also harassing on the defensive end. His match-up, Jeremy Lin, achieved a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists, but he shot just 4-16 from the floor. Overall, it was a pretty good game for Outback Jesus.

Tony Snell

G, Milwaukee Bucks

B-It might not have been the debut people were expecting from Snell, but he gets a bit of a pass here. It was his first game with the team and he’s not 100% healthy yet. He played in just 21 minutes, although some of that could be attributed to Rashad Vaughn having the hot hand. Still, it was positive to see how confidently Snell shot the ball. He was not scared to pop the open jumper, or even work in a quick isolation, which the team will greatly miss from Khris Middleton. There is no way to “replace” Middleton, but if Snell starts breaking down players 1-on-1 on the wing, that just adds another facet to the offense. Snell’s impact on the team is definitely still up in the air, but this was not a bad debut. Plenty of time left for him to figure out the system and start burying threes.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

G/F, Milwaukee Bucks

A-Through two games, it certainly seems like the hype behind Giannis Antetokounmpo entering his fourth season was correct. After a 31 points, nine rebounds performance in game one, he followed it up in this one with his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds. His ability to rebound is so important because of his work in transition, where he finished 1v4 on multiple occasions. His three assists are probably less than most people were expecting for this season, but the Bucks seem to be giving Delly lots of freedom as a ball handler, therefore taking some of the duties away from Giannis. While averaging 37 minutes per game through two games, it will be interesting to see how Giannis performs in the back-to-back and if his minutes are adjusted in any way.

Jabari Parker

F, Milwaukee Bucks

C+Jabari Parker hasn’t been the type of scorer that most people were expecting to see out of him after the preseason, but he has been fine regardless. His defense has gotten a little better, although it is definitely still shaky. Plus, along with his 14 points, he added in eight rebounds and four assists for the team. He played 35 minutes in the game, but it would be nice to see him be a little more aggressive in the half court. His ability to get to the basket was on display on the last play of the game, and although he didn’t make his shot, he drew defenders and put the ball on the rim, which was enough to give John Henson the opportunity to make the game-winning shot. In total, it would be nice to see him take on a bigger role within the offense, as everybody knows he is more talented on the offensive end than the 13.5 PPG he has through two games.

Miles Plumlee

C, Milwaukee Bucks

FIn starting his second game of the year, Miles Plumlee was no better in this game. He was not only the worst center on the team, but the worst player as well. It will be interesting to see how long he holds his starting spot if he keeps up his current play. He only played eight minutes for the second straight game and looked dreadful when in the game. A stat line of two points, one assist, one rebound, one turnover, and two fouls in eight minutes is not a good sign moving forward. After signing that big contract in the offseason, he needs to pick up his production or fans will really start getting upset with that major expense. There is one positive from Plumlee’s play so far though: he can really only go up from here.Next: Bench

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Bench

Mirza Teletovic

F, Milwaukee Bucks

C-So Mirza Teletovic shot the ball a little better in this one, knocking down two of his three attempts from behind the arc, but he still wasn’t great. He had eight points in 16 minutes of play, but also only grabbed a couple of rebounds and assists. It seemed like he toned down his aggressiveness when attacking the paint from the first game and started to find his game around the three-point line, which is probably a good thing moving forward. He is a negative defender, so he needs to take more advantage of his time on the floor to provide a big impact as a shooter. For last season, Mirza attempted 5.8 threes per game in 21.3 minutes. Through two games so far with the Bucks, that number has dropped to 4.0 threes while his minutes are relatively the same. Picking up that attempt rate as well as knocking them down would be beneficial for the squad.

Greg Monroe

C, Milwaukee Bucks

C+Maybe not the rebounding production that the Bucks are used to seeing out of Greg Monroe, but he once again showed that he is comfortable in his role coming off the bench. He had a fairly solid 11 points while going a very respectable 5-5 from the free throw line. Connecting at the line is important for any team that wants to succeed, so his contributions to the team’s overall solid night from the line (20-24, 83.3%) is good to see. Also, his hands are looking very active on defense, adding four steals in the win. He is still not a great defender by any means, but Moose seems to be showing a lot better movement on defense as well as looking better in his rotations. He really has looked good in moments when he is the focal point of the team against other bench units, and that will be key in the future.

Malcolm Brogdon

G, Milwaukee Bucks

CAfter a very solid debut for Malcolm Brogdon, he wasn’t nearly as good in this one. He was 0/5 from the floor and only had two points in his 13 minutes. This decrease in minutes is in large part due to the addition of Tony Snell to the rotation and the incredible performance of Rashad Vaughn. Brogdon showed in yet another game that his biggest weakness lies in his three-point shooting. It seems that he has confidence in that shot and is willing to take it, and that is good sign, but the team needs to start seeing them go in sooner rather than later. Also, his numbers do not do his passing game justice from this night. He had quite a few nice passes that did not lead directly to assists and had some lead to fouls. Hard to say after two games, but this just felt like an off night for the rookie.

Michael Beasley

F, Milwaukee Bucks

C-Surprisingly only given nine minutes in this game, Beasley looked fine in his time on the floor. He was 2-2 from the floor, but also had a turnover and a foul. As Adam mentioned after the last game, the Bucks really need more production out of him moving forward. The team had several other players on the bench step up their scoring production in this one, but they cannot count on that every night. Beas might not be the perfect player, but he knows how to score, even if it is in limited minutes.

John Henson

C, Milwaukee Bucks

B+With 21 minutes, Henson led all three centers in minutes here, and capitalized on those opportunities. He grabbed 12 rebounds in that span of time, which is quite impressive and is a great sign for the rest of the season. He also added two blocks on the defensive end while looking alright on offense, especially with his patented lefty hook. Overall, he did a lot of things for the Bucks in this game, leading to a more positive look moving on. Oh, and he made the game-winner. Did I forget to mention that? So much is forgiven when a player makes the game-winning shot, but Henson had a pretty good game in the first place, so that is just the cherry on top for him.

Rashad Vaughn

G, Milwaukee Bucks

ARashad Vaughn looked really good last night. Like really good. He was confident and stroking his three-ball. He was 6-12 from behind the arc, including a couple of really pretty moves to create his shot. He finished with a team-high and career-high 22 points and was pretty solid on the defensive end. Mr. Showtime definitely showed up the critics who thought he shouldn’t have had his third year option picked up in this one, and it was good to see. If he can keep playing with that kind of confidence and prowess from deep, there really is potential for Vaughn, who is still only 20-years-old. He already has outstanding offensive fundamentals and getting the opportunity to master the catch-and-shoot game with Delly would be a good thing for the team.Next: Jason Kidd

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Head Coach

Jason Kidd

Coach, Milwaukee Bucks

When playing Jabari at power forward to finish games, it is important to have a rim protector behind him, and Henson is just that. He also had the game-winner, but that’s besides the point. However, with the game-winning play, I saw a lack of creativity. With a tie ballgame on hand, there are a lot of different plays that a coach can draw up. But he just went to a 1-on-1 Jabari Parker isolation. Sure, it worked and Jabari was able to get to the basket, but I would like to see a little more movement off ball and give Parker some more options other than either getting what he wants or tossing up a terrible shot.

Minutes distribution seemed about right, although it was weird to see Beasley, a player that seemed to be high on Kidd’s list, only get nine minutes. He hasn’t done anything to warrant more to this point, but it was just interesting. The rotations weren’t perfect, but there is still a lot of time for Kidd to try different things and figure out which players are best suited with other players on the team.

It is hard to judge Kidd on just two games, so judgement is being reserved for the later in the season. And in Kidd’s words I say: “A lot of good things, but there is still work to be done.”

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Opposition

Brooklyn Nets

Atlantic, 1-2

1. The Nets were playing in their second game of a back-to-back.
2. The Bucks were playing at home.
3. Brook Lopez did not play.
4. Tony Snell made his debut.

But even with all of these things, it wasn’t easy for the Bucks. The Nets made things difficult in Milwaukee, just like they did with the Pacers the night before. A lot of people seemed to think the Nets were going to be awful this season, including me, but they have opened some eyes early on. They might be just 1-2, but they aren’t letting any teams blow them out.

Are the Nets better than people originally thought and will this turn out to be a pretty good win in the long run? Maybe, but there is a long season ahead.

Up next for the Bucks is the first road test against the Detroit Pistons at 5 p.m. CT on Sunday.