Milwaukee Bucks Grades and Reactions to Game 4 92-90 Win Over the Chicago Bulls
Milwaukee Bucks Grades: Starters
Michael Carter-Williams, C
8 Points | 4-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK |
He started the game 0-3 shooting at the rim in the first three minutes. All of the looks were relatively clean and from a fan’s perspective should have gone down. He made good on those misses in the third quarter, taking Rose off the dribble for layups that he converted. He had a terrible hand-off turnover intended for Middleton toward the end of the first half that resulted in a Bulls easy opportunity. He’s going to have to really ramp up his game on Monday night if the Bucks are going to have a chance to win.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, B-
10 Points| 3-7 FG | 4-6 FT | 8 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK |
His third quarter “Dark Giannis” surge saw him hit a pair of jumpers and take over the game with his defense. When Giannis is pounding his chest and stink facing 18,717 fans there’s got to be something major going on. He wasn’t quite as aggressive as he was in Game 3–probably the result of the Bulls scheming against him—but he still found a way to make important plays.
Khris Middleton, B
10 Points | 4-15 FG | 1-1 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK |
He ripped Derrick Rose with clutch help defense in the closing seconds of the game. All season long we’ve touted Middleton as a very underrated defender. He always seems to be in the middle of game-important plays. Tonight the most important play he provided was the larceny of Rose. He did miss five of his six three pointers, but that seemed more like an anomaly rather than a theme.
Ersan Ilyasova, D+
9 Points | 3-11 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK |
Is there a Bucks’ player whose momentum is more fragile than Ilyasova’s? One minute he’s stroking rhythm three pointers, the next he’s pump faking and tanking one dribble before passing right into the heart of the defense. His big redeeming factor is his uncanny ability to flash around the rim for easy layups. He shot just 1-5 on three pointers despite getting open look after open look. Could game five be the one where he finally goes off? Probably not. But my fingers are crossed nonetheless.
Zaza Pachulia, B
8 Points | 3-6 FG | 2-4 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 6 STL | 0 BLK |
His jumper was falling at a decent rate (2-4) and he dominated his starting peers in (+/-) with a +9; but it just looked like he was a step behind the action. Jason Kidd seemed to notice his half-step lag as he gave Henson four more minutes then Zaza, 26-22, including the entire fourth quarter. That’s a ringing endorsement if i’ve ever seen one. It’s not that Pachulia is playing bad basketball, it’s just that Henson looks so much better offensively and defensively than Zaza.
Next: Bucks Grades: Bench