Milwaukee Bucks Grades, Reaction From 105-102 2OT Victory Over Cleveland Cavaliers
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Milwaukee Bucks Grades: Starters
Michael Carter-Williams, B+
17 Points | 6-12 FG | 5-6 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL | 2 BLK | I suppose MCW’s performance qualifies as a triumphant return. A costly late fourth quarter TO aside (it was truly awful) he was excellent. He hit big shots (like that finger roll in OT) and played brilliant defense all night. The turnovers are a problem, but for every giveaway there’s an eyebrow-raising dime to go with it. I can live with him trying to make plays for his teammates.
Khris Middleton, C
11 Points| 4-13 FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | His shots just aren’t going in. That happens over the course of an 82 game season. There’s hot and cold spells. So I suppose you can say Middleton’s icy start to the season is just a cold patch–something that good old fashioned shooting can get him out of. He’ll have to improve his shot selection first. At least he’s still getting it done defensively.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, C+
16 Points | 6-18 FG | 4-5 FT | 11 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 3 BLK | The Freak was stymied by LeBron most of the night. So from that angle you could argue that his sixteen points were impressive (LeBron is an all-world defender, of course). The Bucks didn’t necessarily need points from Giannis. They needed defense and rebounding. And he delivered. Right up until fouling out in 2OT. Lasting that long against LeBron is pretty impressive.
Jabari Parker, B+
12 Points | 5-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | Parker’s night will be remembered for that pair of amazing dunks. It’s great to see him playing with confidence. He’s a really dynamic player in the paint, where he did significant damage to poor Kevin Love all night. Even more encouraging is his minutes played–30. Yeah, so much for that “We’re going to limit him” nonsense. It makes me giddy to see him progressing this far, this fast.
Greg Monroe, B+
16 Points| 8-17 FG | 0-0 FT | 17 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | Sort of a ho-hum double double from the big guy. He made impact plays, sure, but they felt muted given the action around him. That’s fine. He just went about his business, collecting a game-high seventeen rebounds while showing the sort of hustle that made last year’s Bucks team special. Superman, anyone?
Next: Grades: Bench