.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
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 12th 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: 35.2 minutes, 23.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.8 steals, 2.0 blocks, 52.2 FG%, 28.6 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 39.0 minutes, 16.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.3 blocks, 41.5 FG%, 40.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 26.6 PER, 60.1 percent TS%, 28.2 percent USG%, 117 ORtg, 104 DRtg, 4.4 VORP.
Notable: A poor game against Utah (2-of-10 shooting, 9 points -- the only time this year he's been in single digits other than a 9-minute outing in San Antonio) offset a decent week for most mere mortals. Antetokounmpo had 19 points and eight assists -- his most in a game since Dec. 31 -- at Toronto and 21 points and six assists on 8-of-16 shooting vs. Boston.
MALCOLM BROGDON (Age 24, first season)
Statistical season averages: 25.5 minutes, 9.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.1 blocks, 43.5 FG%, 42.5 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 29.3 minutes, 8.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.0 blocks, 40.0 FG%, 40.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 13.4 PER, 53.4 percent TS%, 17.9 percent USG%, 108 ORtg, 111 DRtg, 0.2 VORP.
Notable: Brogdon played in over 30 minutes in two of last week's three games despite coming off the bench. He had 11 points and five assists vs. Boston and 10 points, four assists and three steals at Utah.
THON MAKER (Age 19, first season)
Statistical season averages: 5.9 minutes, 2.9 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.0 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.4 blocks, 53.3 FG%, 56.3 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 14.1 minutes, 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.7 blocks, 50.0 FG%, 75.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 19.3 PER, 64.5 percent TS%, 18.5 percent USG%, 125 ORtg, 107 DRtg, 0.0 VORP.
Notable: Maker started in back-to-back games and played a career-high 24 minutes as Utah, also posting highs in that game in points (12), 3-pointers (3), rebounds (5) and blocks (3). He also had a steal, giving him at least one in four of his last six games.
JABARI PARKER (Age 21, third season)
Statistical season averages: 34.2 minutes, 20.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.4 blocks, 48.6 FG%, 37.3 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 33.2 minutes, 14.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.3 blocks, 38.1 FG%, 0.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats: 18.8 PER, 56.0 percent TS%, 25.9 percent USG%, 111 ORtg, 111 DRtg, 1.0 VORP.
Notable: Parker recorded his first double-double of the season with a 21-point, 13-rebound performance against Toronto. Unfortunately, he followed that up with a season-low four points (on 2-of-13 shooting) vs. Boston. Parker has also gone four straight games without a 3-pointer, missing on 12 attempts.
TONY SNELL (Age 25, fourth season)
Statistical season averages: 28.9 minutes, 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.2 blocks, 45.8 FG%, 38.8 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 27.4 minutes, 8.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.0 steals, 1.0 blocks, 61.5 FG%, 66.7 3PT%.
Advanced stats: 9.4 PER, 60.1 percent TS%, 11.5 percent USG%, 115 ORtg, 113 DRtg, 0.4 VORP.
Notable: Snell's hot hand continues as he made 8 of 12 3-point attempts in three games last week and has a 57.4 percentage from downtown over the last 14 games. Snell made 52 percent of his 3-point attempts in January (26 of 50), which was third best in the NBA in that span for those with 30+ attempts and fourth among those with 20+ attempts.
RASHAD VAUGHN (Age 20, second season)
Statistical season averages: 11.5 minutes, 4.1 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.2 blocks, 36.9 FG%, 35.3 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 8.9 PER, 47.7 percent TS%, 17.7 percent USG%, 93 ORtg, 110 DRtg, -0.2 VORP.
Notable: Vaughn played 30 minutes at Toronto, scoring eight points on 1-of-8 shooting (1 of 6 from 3) with six rebounds, two steals and an assist. He did not play against Boston and missed Wednesday's game at Utah due to an illness.
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.
Dave Heller is the author of the new book Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth's Shadow as well as Facing Ted Williams Players From the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns
