Milwaukee Bucks Grades, Reactions to 109-95 Loss To Los Angeles Clippers

Dec 9, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) backs down Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) during the first quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Reactions: The Good

• Michael Carter-Williams continues to thrive in his new bench role. Against the Clippers he brought energy and more importantly–intelligence–to the PG position for the Bucks Wednesday night. The majority of his shots were taken at or near the rim, where he’s most dangerous. There is the small issue of the four shots he took outside the paint (he missed all four), but none were really bad shots. He turned up the dime dial too, with eleven assists to only two turnovers.

• MCW has the full support of the team, too. Check out their overjoyed reactions as he parts the red sea for a (fairly) standard dunk. If you look at the points in the paint stat you would probably think the Bucks cruised to a double-digit victory. Unfortunately that’s not the case. But they did pound the soft Clippers near the basket, scoring 60 points in the paint to just 34 from the Clippers.

• Johnny O’Bryant hit a three–a shot clock expiring attempt from the corner. I took it as a philosophical lesson in life. No matter who you are, or where you are on the court, you can always make a difference in surprising ways. It’s too bad he changed his jersey number this off-season or “JO3” could have been an even bigger thing.

• Jabari Parker has become a highlight machine. Here’s Major Cat doing some euro-step damage against Blake Griffin (and finishing with the left hand). Parker played 31 minutes, so all that talk about limiting him in any capacity is firmly out the window. In fact, Wednesday night was his third straight game with 30 minutes or more. The next step is to get him in the 15 shots per game range (he’s only averaging 9.8 in December).

Next: Reactions: The Bad