Young Bucks Tracker: Parker making case to be an All-Star
With two-thirds of the roster born in 1990 or later, the Milwaukee Bucks are a young, growing team. Every Thursday for the rest of the season, FOX Sports Wisconsin will take a closer look at the players that are 25 years old and younger (for the most part, those still in their first four NBA seasons), measuring, highlighting and evaluating their progress.
This is the 10th edition of the 2016-17 Young Bucks Tracker.
(A glossary of the advanced statistics used for season totals, which are from basketball-reference.com. can be found at the end of this article)
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO (Age 22, fourth season)
Statistical season averages: 34.6 minutes, 23.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.9 steals, 2.0 blocks, 53.0 FG%, 29.5 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 23.7 minutes, 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 3.0 blocks, 37.5 FG%, 33.3 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 28.2 PER, 61.0 percent TS%, 28.7 percent USG%, 118 ORtg, 101 DRtg, 3.7 VORP.
Notable: An illness caused Antetokounmpo to miss his first game of the season Sunday and then play only 9 minutes against San Antonio on Tuesday. In the one game he was healthy, he had 25 points, extending his streak of 20+-point games to 14 (that streak would come to an end vs. the Spurs). That streak tied the longest for a Bucks player since Michael Redd also had 20+ points in 14 straight game in 2006-07. The previous longest streak since 1980-81 was 20 games by Terry Cummings in 1984-85.
MALCOLM BROGDON (Age 24, first season)
Statistical season averages: 24.2 minutes, 9.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.1 blocks, 45.5 FG%, 42.4 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 30.6 minutes, 16.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks, 51.4 FG%, 50.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 14.0 PER, 55.3 percent TS%, 18.1 percent USG%, 109 ORtg, 110 DRtg, 0.2 VORP.
Notable: Even with Matthew Dellavedova returning from injury, Brogdon has kept his spot in Milwaukee's starting lineup -- and has scored in double digits in each of those seven games. Brogdon tied his season-high with three 3-pointers in the win against San Antonio, including one in the waning moments which put the Bucks up for good.
THON MAKER (Age 19, first season)
Statistical season averages: 4.5 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.1 assists, 0.0 steals, 0.2 blocks, 60.0 FG%, 55.6 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 13.0 minutes, 5.0 points, 0.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.0 steals, 0.0 blocks, 100.0 FG%, 100.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 19.0 PER, 71.7 percent TS%, 17.5 percent USG%, 131 ORtg, 107 DRtg, 0.0 VORP.
Notable: After not seeing the court in four straight games, Maker played a season-high 12:54 -- his first time with double-digit minutes -- in the win over San Antonio, playing in both the first and second half and not just in garbage time. Maker picked up his first NBA assist in that game and continues to exude confidence in his shot, having made 5 of 9 3-pointers on the season.
JABARI PARKER (Age 21, third season)
Statistical season averages: 34.1 minutes, 20.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.3 blocks, 49.8 FG%, 41.4 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 37.7 minutes, 25.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.3 blocks, 50.9 FG%, 60.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats: 20.1 PER, 57.2 percent TS%, 25.9 percent USG%, 114 ORtg, 109 DRtg, 1.0 VORP.
Notable: With All-Star teams being announced soon, Parker certainly is making a case for himself. He has scored in double figures in 15 straight games, averaging 23.1 ppg in that span, with 11 games of 20+ points, including all three Bucks games last week. Parker is also shooting 55.0 percent from the field in his last 15 games. Parker is doing more than just scoring, though. Against Washington he had eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block to go with his 28 points. In the win over San Antonio, in addition to 22 points he grabbed seven rebounds and had three assists and a steal.
TONY SNELL (Age 25, fourth season)
Statistical season averages: 29.4 minutes, 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.2 blocks, 43.0 FG%, 34.5 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 34.5 minutes, 9.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks, 61.1 FG%, 50.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats: 8.8 PER, 55.8 percent TS%, 12.4 percent USG%, 108 ORtg, 112 DRtg, 0.2 VORP.
Notable: Snell found his shooting stroke once again, making 11 of 18 shots last week while playing in at least 31 minutes in all three Milwaukee games. He had 13 points against the Knicks, his highest output since Dec. 26.
RASHAD VAUGHN (Age 20, second season)
Statistical season averages: 11.9 minutes, 4.4 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.3 blocks, 38.7 FG%, 36.8 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 9.2 PER, 50.0 percent TS%, 17.6 percent USG%, 95 ORtg, 109 DRtg, -0.1 VORP.
Notable: Deemed healthy to play against San Antonio after missing nine games due to an ankle injury, Vaughn did not play against the Spurs.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
PER -- Player Efficiency Rating: A measure of per-minute production standardized such that the league average is 15.
TS% -- True Shooting Percentage: A measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account 2-point field goals, 3-point field goals, and free throws.
USG% -- Usage Percentage: An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he was on the floor.
ORtg -- Offensive Rating: An estimate of points produced per 100 possessions.
DRtg -- Defensive Rating: An estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions.
VORP -- Value over Replacement Player: A box score estimate of the points per 100 TEAM possessions that a player contributed above a replacement-level (-2.0) player, translated to an average team and prorated to an 82-game season.
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