Milwaukee Bucks Links: Which Brandon is Better?

Every morning, Behind the Buck Pass brings you the reading material you need before you start your day at the office. We bring you the morning’s Daily Dimes — Milwaukee Bucks Links from across the web to get you ready for the day.

Are you still riding the high of the Bucks improbable win on Saturday against the Grizzlies?

Hopefully you are and it helps you get through your Monday workday. You know Monday feels like? Being that guy that scores for your former team.

Mondays are easily the closest day of the week to being renamed “Jerryd Bayless Day”. Sometimes you’re feeling it to start the week. Most of the time though, it’s like trying to run through a brick wall.

Don’t worry folks, we won’t make you bust through the internet bricks to find the best Milwaukee Bucks links across the net.

Here’s your Monday Daily Dimes.

Which Brandon is better?

Our friend Dan Feldman, who covers the Pistons at FanSided’s Piston Powered, wrote a review of the Bucks/Pistons swap of Brandon Jennings for Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton for the Detroit Free Press.

"When they dealt Knight, Middleton and Viacheslav Kravtsov to the Milwaukee Bucks for Jennings before last season, the Pistons got the best player in the trade. I still believe that. At that point, Jennings had established himself as a viable starting NBA point guard while Knight had filled that role in Detroit only because the Pistons had no better options.What Detroit conceded in the trade was upside.Knight (now 22) and Middleton (23) are younger than Jennings (25), so Milwaukee — which visits the Palace of Auburn Hills tonight (7:30 p.m., FS-Plus) — received a couple of players with more long-term potential.So far, the Bucks are winning that bet."

Middleton didn’t play on Friday against the Pistons, but Brandon Knight has continued to show that he can be a dependable player in this league for quite some time. On Saturday, he had six assists and six turnovers, so it’s clear he still needs to work on the finer points of being a floor general.

Brandon Jennings is already in the SVG doghouse after the first few weeks of the season. He continues to be strong at what he’s good at, but struggles at being more consistent in the Pistons offense.

If there is a Milwaukee Bucks fan that rather have Brandon Jennings on the Bucks, please leave a comment in the comments. Chances are you can’t though because you either live in Antarctica or under a rock.

Analyzing Giannis Antetokounmpo being Clutch

Scott Rafferty of the HP Network’s Upside and Motor is drooling over the potential that Giannis Antetokounmpo showed in the fourth quarter of Milwaukee’s 93-92 win over Memphis on Saturday. The Greek Freak scored 12 of his career-high 18 points in the final frame..

"Antetokounmpo is still very much in the infant phase of his development, but on Saturday night he showed what could be by turning some of his potential into results. The Grizzlies had a decision to make with Antetokounmpo playing the four, to which they responded by rolling out their usual lineup. While they attacked him on the defensive end by feeding Randolph the ball — he scored six points and had six rebounds in the fourth quarter — they couldn’t stop Antetokounmpo from getting to the basket.In the end, that was the difference between the Grizzlies extending their win streak to seven games and going back home to Memphis with a loss — one long limbed Greek Freak who is still a baby in the NBA world."

This is why League Pass was born people. I’ve already gone back and re-watched the fourth quarter three times. Make sure you go back and get your fill! Bucks fans might of officially witnessed the official breakout game for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Free Throws and Turnovers are still Problematic

Dylan Hughes of Hoops Habit breaks down the recent issues with the Bucks early in the season. Of course, the top two issues deal with a lack of free throw attempts and the struggle to cut down on turnovers.

"In the small sample size of games the Bucks have played, they have actually won two of three games turning the ball over more than the opposition.To be fair, one of the wins was over the Sixers–who are all aboard the tank train–and the one win while turning the ball over less was against an injury-depleted Pacers team that has their fair share of young, inexperienced talent on the floor as well.In the free throw department, all of the Bucks’ losses have occurred while losing the free throw attempt battle (made more than Charlotte and Detroit in fewer attempts). In all three of their wins, they have somehow managed to shoot fewer free throws and still play good enough to win.One of those wins includes the then undefeated Memphis Grizzlies, who turned the ball over less and shot and made more free throws than the Bucks.Having limited attempts at the line, as I mentioned earlier, is just a trait of a younger team and will change when they play and grow together more throughout the season. The turnovers, however, actually have a source.Point guards generally aim to have a high assist-to-turnover ratio. The best of the best create for their team more than the other team. Chris Paul, widely regarded as the best point guard in the league, unsurprisingly ranksfirst in assist-to-turnover ratio at 10.40.Brandon Knight is pretty far from those numbers at only 2.25."

What’s interesting about the whole turnover conundrum is that the Bucks have had good ball movement the last few games, but still have the second lowest amount of passes per game this season. Knight has some work to do without a doubt. One thing to keep in mind too is that the Bucks are running the floor at one of the highest paces in the league. According to NBA’s advanced speed stats, the Bucks average speed is tied for second in the league.

As the season goes on, Jerryd Bayless will handle the ball more. There is  a reason that Kendall Marshall started alongside Brandon Knight as well on Friday.

There is no doubting though that the Bucks need to get to the charity stripe more.  What’s interesting is that the Bucks are in the top 7 in drives per game. Yet the team is 27th in free throw attempts per game.

Two for the Road

— Big Baby doesn’t just love going ape in hotel rooms… He also likes going all ape when Blake Griffin climbs on top of him. After a charge call.

— Here’s our first look at possible advertising on jerseys of players and on the court. Of course, the experiment starts in the Developmental League.

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