Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks: Player Power Rankings (Jan. 5-Jan. 11)

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:00 p.m. ET

Fansided, Lukas Harkins/FanSided via Behind the Buck Pass

Jan 10, 2017; San Antonio, TX, USA; Milwaukee Bucks power forward Jabari Parker (12) drives to the basket as San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Danny Green (14), and Tony Parker (9), and Jonathon Simmons (17, left) look on during the second half at AT&T Center. The Bucks won 109-107. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Despite going 1-2 during this past week, the Milwaukee Bucks came out of San Antonio with a big win to move the record back up over .500.

Week in Review (1-2)

L: New York Knicks, 116 @ Milwaukee Bucks, 111

L: Washington Wizards, 107 @ Milwaukee Bucks, 101

W: Milwaukee Bucks, 109 @ San Antonio Spurs, 107

Milwaukee Bucks Tweet of the Week:

This calls for a high-five, @Bucks fans! pic.twitter.com/G75OueEC1D

— FOX Sports Wisconsin (@fswisconsin) January 11, 2017

Oh, what a wonderful feeling it is when the two of you combine for 45 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, and four blocks in a win.

Entering the season, it is hard to believe that Bucks’ fans would see Malcolm Brogdon and Michael Beasley carry the Bucks to a victory over the 30-7 (now 30-8) Spurs on the road. Well, there was quite a bit of help from Jabari Parker and Greg Monroe, but a win nonetheless.

It is also hard to believe that the Bucks are capable of beating one of the best teams in the league without Giannis for the majority of the game (he only played nine minutes).

Looking just at the record, this wasn’t a great week for the Bucks, and that’s mostly true. Yet, there were several positives. First off, Malcolm Brogdon is definitely ready to be the starter at point guard. He showed a lot of flashes off the bench and played huge minutes down the stretch of games, but as the sample size for his starts continues, his production just keeps going up.

And, along the same lines of Brogdon as the starter, Delly seems to be comfortable with his new role coming off the bench. Oh, and another positive out of this is that Delly is healthy again, adding more depth to the guard position.

Speaking of depth at the guard position, rumor has it that some guy named Khris Middleton could be joining the team sometime after the All-Star break. I’ve also heard he’s a pretty good player that will get plenty of minutes.

Still, the minor (albeit major for the sake of this week) negative from this week was the sickness of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Sure, we cannot expect the Greek Freak to play all 82 games, but it does hurt when he is not on the floor, even if the team went 1-1 while he only played nine minutes.

Without any further ado, let’s take a look at this week’s Milwaukee Bucks Player Power Rankings! (Please note that these rankings are based on the play of last week alone, and due to the injury to Giannis, this is his first week not coming in at #1).

Nov 3, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Miles Plumlee (18) tries to steal ball from Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) in the second quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Miles Plumlee

Last week: 1 GP: 3.0 mins/2.0 pts/0.0 rebs/0.0 asts

Once again, Plumlee barely found his way off the bench, and is the only player (that played) to receive less than 10 minutes. He was able to make his only shot from the field, but was otherwise did nothing special in his time. With John Henson struggling slightly over this past week, one must wonder how Plumlee is playing in practice to warrant such few minutes.Next: 11. Thon Maker

Dec 31, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Thon Maker (L) celebrates with guard Malcolm Brogdon (rigRht) after defeating the Chicago Bulls 116-96 at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Thon Maker

Last week: 1 GP: 13.0 mins/5.0 pts/0.0 rebs/1.0 asts

Now, let’s take a look at how Thon is doing amongst his peers. The following ranks are among all NBA players that have played less than 75 total minutes for the season (including some injured players, such as Jerryd Bayless).

Points: first
Rebounds: second
Three-pointers made: tied-first
Field goals made: tied-first
Blocks: first
Win Shares: first

The minutes aren’t there yet, but don’t worry Bucks’ fans. Thon is coming.

Matthew Dellavedova

Last week: 2 GP: 20.5 mins/3.0 pts/2.0 rebs/4.5 asts

After shooting 36.8 percent, 40.7 percent, and 41.0 percent from three in each of his respective first three seasons, Matthew Dellavedova is down to 32.0 percent from deep this season. And even though he is averaging career highs in assists, rebounding, and tied in points, this is a down year for him.

One positive thing for Delly, however, is his willingness to fit any role he needs to play. Since coming back from injury, he has lost his starting spot to rookie Malcolm Brogdon. Yet, he seems to have taken up his bench role with a good mood, which is huge to keep the team chemistry high.

Dec 20, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) looks to pass against Milwaukee Bucks guard Jason Terry (3) in the second quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Terry

Last week: 3 GP: 17.3 mins/3.0 pts/1.0 rebs/2.7 asts

Terry was two-for-three on field goal attempts for the week, all of which were attempts from three-point land, and was also able to dish out eight assists.

Dec 12, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Milwaukee Bucks forward Mirza Teletovic (35) dribbles the ball past Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph (6) in the first half at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Mirza Teletovic

Last week: 3 GP: 17.3 mins/5.3 pts/1.7 rebs/0.7 asts

He stayed right on track this week, burying four of ten three-pointers and did very little else. In fact, all of his scoring came from three, with two free throws also tossed in.

John Henson

Last week: 3 GP: 17.3 mins/4.0 pts/4.3 rebs/2.0 asts

As I have mentioned in the past, Henson’s numbers are fine for a bench player, but are nowhere near they need to be for the starting position. And with his relatively weak offense, his defense needs to make up for it. This usually would not be a problem, but during this last stretch, he has really struggled against other bigs down low.

Henson is a shot-blocking, rim-protecting center, who recorded just two blocks in 52 total minutes.

Tony Snell

Last week: 3 GP: 34.3 mins/9.3 pts/2.0 rebs/1.0 asts

Although he attempted zero free throws, that is not too much of a surprise at this point. However, he was six-for-12 from behind the arc, good for 50 percent, as well as capitalizing on five of his six attempts inside the three-point line. Plus, as he has shown all season, he only turned the ball over one team in a total of 103 minutes. This is a testament not just to his low usage rate, but also to his ability to make the right decisions.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Last week: 2 GP: 23.5 mins/12.5 pts/4.0 rebs/2.0 asts

In his time on the floor (just 47 minutes), Giannis struggled from the field (just nine-for-24, 37.5 percent), but he still led the team in blocks with six (!). It’s hard to give much judgement on his play due to the illness, but everybody knows what the Greek Freak is, and that is a superstar.

Michael Beasley

Last week: 3 GP: 21.0 mins/16.3 pts/2.0 rebs/2.0 asts

He was tied for second in total points, and despite his turnovers and low averages in other parts of the game, B-Easy was brought to Milwaukee to score, and that is what he did. He even knocked down two of his three deep shots.

Jan 8, 2017; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) steals the ball from Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris (5) on the third quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Greg Monroe

Last week: 3 GP: 29.3 mins/15.0 pts/9.3 rebs/3.7 asts

In under 30 minutes per game, Monroe nearly averaged a double-double while shooting exactly 50 percent from the field. He also led the team in rebounds with 28 (second place had 19) and even dished out 11 assists. Not much to complain about as Moose once again showed that he is a changed man this season.

Malcolm Brogdon

President Guard

Last week: 3 GP: 30.7 mins/16.3 pts/4.3 rebs/5.3 asts

But by far and away, the most surprising thing about Brogdon this year is his play in the clutch. Sure, you would expect that the President would be great in crunch time and stressful situations, but Brogdon takes it to a new level.

He is completely in control of his pace and the game around him at all times and his defense comes very close to outstripping his offense in performance.

Jabari Parker

Last week: 3 GP: 37.7 mins/25.0 pts/6.3 rebs/5.0 asts

As Major Cat continues to have an awesome year from behind the arc, he was 60 percent from deep in this week, nine-for-15. In addition to his scoring, he finished second on the team in rebounding and assists this week, things he doesn’t usually excel with.

Check back next week for another edition of the Bucks’ player power rankings!