Milwaukee Bucks: Player Grades From 112-96 Loss To Orlando Magic
The Milwaukee Bucks failed to snap their losing streak after another disappointing showing on Friday night.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Magic | 25 | 34 | 29 | 24 | 112 |
| Bucks | 23 | 32 | 19 | 22 | 96 |
The winds of change may be circling the Milwaukee Bucks. Now two games below .500 and seemingly stuck in a run of poor form, Friday’s road defeat to the Orlando Magic may ultimately prove to be a catalyst for the Bucks to reassess the shape of their rotation.
In a game where Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t score with the ease he’s become accustomed to recently, the Bucks were left wanting from a bench and supporting cast that not so long ago appeared to be one of the best in the league from a statistical point of view.
Some sharpshooting from Jabari Parker and Malcolm Brogdon kept the Bucks close for longer than the rest of their play likely warranted, as defense was nowhere to be found and the offense stalled.
The Bucks were effectively out of reach for the bulk of the fourth quarter, though, and many of the team’s bigger stars were left with plenty of time for soul searching as the clock ticked down.
How did the Bucks, Jason Kidd and the Magic grade overall on the night, though? Let’s take a closer look.
Starters
Malcolm Brogdon
G, Milwaukee Bucks
BAfter a shaky performance against the Rockets, this was back to the Malcolm Brogdon we’ve all come to know. Brogdon was steady, reliable and efficient in almost all aspects of his game. The President made 4-6 from deep, and had only one turnover to negatively counter his five assists en route to a 16-point showing. If Brogdon does find himself back on the bench soon, it shouldn’t be considered a demotion. Instead, it will be a testament to his ability to raise the performance abilities of those around him.
Tony Snell
G, Milwaukee Bucks
C-Tony Snell‘s plus-minus (+15) is a marvel, but neither the eye test or the box score offered much evidence of this being such a stellar game for the former New Mexico man. Snell missed both of his three-point attempts, and only attempted (and made) one other field goal during his 24 minutes of action. When Snell has been active as an offensive contributor it’s been a big help to the Bucks. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee of a nightly contribution on both ends from Snell.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
G/F, Milwaukee Bucks
B+This is about as bad as Giannis has played in a long time (with the exception of his brief appearance with illness against the Spurs), and yet his stat-line still looks like something that 99 percent of NBA players could only dream about. Beyond the numbers, Antetokounmpo had a challenging night, though. Aaron Gordon deserves credit for giving him little space to operate, but Giannis really struggled to make shots. The Greek Freak was only 6-17 from the field, and when he tried to defer to get others involved their shots often weren’t dropping either. Still, he was dominant on the glass and perfect from the free throw line. We’ll all happily accept his bad nights offering up 17 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
Jabari Parker
F, Milwaukee Bucks
B+A very tough game to grade for Parker. It was his offensive outbursts that kept the Bucks close initially and helped to edge their way back on a couple of occasions during the game, but his four turnovers certainly didn’t help the cause either. For a player who not so long ago faced big questions over whether he’d ever be able to develop a reliable three-point shot, going 3-6 from deep to add to his season 41.6 percent tally from behind the arc is truly impressive. Parker also grabbed six boards and dished out six rebounds, although after 19 first half points it’s hard to feel he couldn’t have done more in the final 24 minutes.
John Henson
C, Milwaukee Bucks
Bench
Greg Monroe
C, Milwaukee Bucks
DAnother horrid performance from Greg Monroe who looks like a markedly lesser player over the past couple of weeks. With Dellavedova struggling, Monroe looks to be crying out for any sort of creativity around him in the second unit and without it he’s all too predictable. This performance included a catalog of missed layups that were egregious even by Monroe’s standards. His plus-minus of -28 in just 14 minutes tells the whole story of how Moose impacted this game.
Matthew Dellavedova
G, Milwaukee Bucks
FThis is about as bad as it gets for Delly, or at least the Bucks will have to hope it is. Having struggled horribly to find any semblance of his game since coming back from injury, Dellavedova isn’t finding himself out there with the kind of groups that are going to minimize his influence and allow him to rebuild confidence and sharpness. The result is a game like this one, where mired in the second unit as one of that group’s leaders, Delly goes 0-4 from the field and fails to contribute even a single assist.
Michael Beasley
F, Milwaukee Bucks
C-Beasley entered at around the time where the Bucks started to bleed away the comfortable first quarter lead they had built up, and having been particularly counterproductive during the spell that saw it slip away was then consigned to the bench for most of the remainder of the night. Beas finished with just seven minutes played, and two points and two rebounds from 1-4 shooting.
Mirza Teletovic
F, Milwaukee Bucks
DA made field goal is in itself a big positive for Teletovic who has looked terrible lately, but the fact that it was a runner off the dribble rather than a trademark jumper would certainly suggest we might still be a way off being out of the woods with the Bosnian’s blip. Perhaps the most notable element of Telly’s play was how he managed to rack up three personal fouls in a startlingly short period of time after coming into the game.
Jason Terry
SG, Milwaukee Bucks
DJET made a single field goal, but spent most of his time on the periphery of the game when he was on the floor. While that’s exactly where you want the veteran when the team is in a groove, as part of a group that’s completely off their game that’s never going to do a whole lot to help. Terry’s plus-minus of -29 in just 12 minutes proves that. Terry has done a great job of using his voice to influence his teammates, but in games like this they probably need him to look to get his hands on the ball more often as a steadying veteran presence in-game.
Rashad Vaughn
G, Milwaukee Bucks
BVery good minutes from Vaughn, which would make it unsurprising if he was to find himself cast into minutes further up the rotation again for Saturday’s game with the Heat. Sure, it may have been 10 minutes of garbage time, but Vaughn managed to grab eight points on 3-6 from the field when most of his teammates were still flailing around having no real success in getting anything to fall. Somewhat under the radar, Vaughn is up to 38.6 percent from three-point range too.
Miles Plumlee
C, Milwaukee Bucks
C+The lack of rebounds is troubling, but make no mistake about it, this was the most Plumlee minutes we’ve seen in a long time. With good reason too, as Plums managed to make positive contributions. Miles knocked down a couple of hook shots before he seemingly tried to impress the judges with attempts that were increasing absurdly in terms of degree of difficulty. Newsflash: Plumlee’s sky hook still isn’t on a par with Kareem’s. Another positive for the oft-maligned Bucks center was a block and a couple of displays of the verticality at the rim that he often showed defensively last season. Maybe there’s still hope here.
Thon Maker
F/C, Milwaukee Bucks
C-Not the usual garbage time Thon Maker excitement with no points to show for his cameo, but Maker did grab a steal and a rebound in his five minutes of action.Next: Jason Kidd
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Head Coach
Jason Kidd
Coach, Milwaukee Bucks
It’s not that much of a secret as to why Greg Monroe’s excellent contributions were driving the team to wins a couple of weeks ago, and his miscues are now tanking them in the opposite direction. As Matthew Dellavedova desperately tries to find something, it seems logical that he may find that process a little easier with more of his minutes coming alongside the team’s best players. If Monroe isn’t dominating inside, is it going to be any easier for Teletovic to find his groove again?
These questions may lead to a classic Jason Kidd lineup change as he tries to shock some life into his team, and if they don’t he needs to hope for something to click as the upcoming schedule is not particularly forgiving after Saturday.
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Opposition
Orlando Magic
Southeast, 18-27
None of that matters when they’re matched up with a team who are offering little defensive resistance and minimal offensive threat, though. The Bucks made it easy for the Magic, and to Orlando’s full credit they took advantage with a win that may help to build their own confidence.
With this loss, the Bucks fell two games below .500, at 20-22 for the season. They desperately need a bounce back win on Saturday as they stay in Florida to face the Miami Heat.
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