Power Rankings Roundup: Sleeping On The Bucks

We made note last week that in spite of a week of wins most national Power Rankings still appeared to be sleeping on the Milwaukee Bucks. With that in mind, we signed off by stating our expectation to watch the Bucks rise up the tables this week.

Now, here we are, and that hasn’t quite happened yet…

This begs the question, what do the Bucks need to do to get noticed? They’ve only had one defeat in the past two weeks, knocked off quality opposition like Porland and Toronto, and done all of it while being shorthanded.

Don’t worry, here at BTBP, we’ll give the Bucks their due either way, but lets take a look at who on the national stage has been paying attention to our Bucks over the past seven days.

John Schuhmann of NBA.com has the Bucks in 15th, just as he has done for much of the last couple of months. Although he may not have bumped the Bucks up as they probably deserved, he did at least notice the outstanding performances of Giannis over the past week.

"Giannis Antetokounmpo has been about production as much as highlights lately. He has shot 61 percent as the Bucks have won six of their last seven games (their best offensive stretch in almost two months). He’s recorded double-doubles in four of his last five and set career highs in two straight games last week (25 vs. the Lakers and 27 at Houston)."

More from Behind the Buck Pass

Sports Illustrated’s Matt Dollinger is on the Christmas card list, Bucks fans! In all seriousness, Dollinger has noted Milwaukee’s outstanding defensive improvements under Jason Kidd, and that undoubtedly played a part in him moving the Bucks up to 13th this week.

"With virtually the same roster, Jason Kidd has transformed the Bucks’ porous defense (No. 29 in efficiency) from last season into one of the tightest in the league (No. 2 at 99.1 points per 100 possessions). Milwaukee’s D also gives up a league-low 35.5 field goals per game."

ESPN’s Marc Stein keeps the Bucks steady at 15th once again. Having beaten the Brandon Knight All-Star drum for a couple of weeks, now Stein is highlighting Giannis’ timing heading to All-Star Weekend. We might as well make him the Bucks All-Star Weekend spokesperson right now!

"Good timing from The Greek Freak. Giannis Antetokounmpo will be heading to All-Star Weekend for Friday/Saturday duty playing the best ball of his life, having just erupted for 27 and 15 against Houston for the most surprising team on Earth — five games over .500? — that no one ever talks about."

More from Bucks News

Yahoo’s Marc Spears chose to move Milwaukee up one place to 14th this week, and although Wade is yet to withdraw, and many of Spears’ peers seems to favor Kyle Korver, the Yahoo! man reckons that Brandon Knight is still in with a shot at the All-Star game.

"The Bucks haven’t had an All-Star since 2004. Brandon Knight could be a replacement for injured Miami guard Dwyane Wade."

Matt Moore of CBS Sports has the Bucks dropping down a place to 16 this week, although he doesn’t go into specific reasons for the drop. One thing that Moore does highlight though is the terrific play of Giannis, and I’m pretty sure “Greek Freak: Playoffs Edition” is something we can all get behind!

"Last five games for Giannis Antetokounmpo: 17.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.6 blocks shooting 63 percent from the floor. He is well ahead of his projected improvement curve and “Greek Freak: Playoffs Edition” is enough to get you excited about the Bucks."

Rounding us off, as always we have Drew Garrison of SB Nation. Garrison is another who mysteriously has the Bucks fall to 16th this week. The fact that he does so while lauding praise on the Bucks’ defense and Khris Middleton in particular, only serves to make things all the stranger.

"The Bucks’ defense is second-best in the NBA, and Khris Middleton is a big part of the reason, as SB Nation’s Mike Prada explained last week:He’s not a lockdown defender, but he knows how to use his length, a critical skill in Kidd’s aggressive pick-and-roll scheme that shows ball-handlers a flood of bodies and arms on every screen. Middleton gets plenty of steals himself, but helps create many others.Milwaukee allows a team-worst 103.2 points per 100 possessions when Middleton is on the bench. That drops down to 95.1 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor.So, although the rankings may not have reflected the quality of Milwaukee’s recent play, at least the compliments are flowing for our Bucks.Anyway, there’s always next week, right?Next: NBA Trade Deadline: 5 Big Men For The Bucks To ConsiderPublished on 02/09/2015 at 5:19 PM CDTLast updated on 02/09/2015 at 5:19 PM CDT He’s not a lockdown defender, but he knows how to use his length, a critical skill in Kidd’s aggressive pick-and-roll scheme that shows ball-handlers a flood of bodies and arms on every screen. Middleton gets plenty of steals himself, but helps create many others."