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Milwaukee Bucks Grades, Reaction To 108-95 Win Over (Previously Undefeated) Golden State Warriors

By Jeff Herrmann

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Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Reactions: The Good

  • The roller coaster ride that is Michael Carter-Williams continued in full force Saturday night. A game after posting a sickly two points on 1-7 shooting, he was one of the heroes against the Warriors. His seventeen points doubled the scoring output of the rest of the bench combined. His shot selection was good–taking most of his shots in the paint and hitting some seriously impressive floaters in the fourth quarter. And he protected the ball all night, turning it over just once against five assists. Like the rest of this Bucks team it all comes down to consistency–can he play like that every night? Perhaps. At least we know he’s capable against the best of the best.
  • MCW’s strong game is best encapsulated in this clip. A dunk is always a great play. A dunk over the league’s reigning MVP is a special one.
  • Much has been made of O.J. Mayo’s role as the starting PG. For better or worse his presence in the starting lineup gives the Bucks shooting. Precious, precious shooting. He hit four threes (all in the first half), making the Warriors pay for trying to sneak in double teams on Monroe and Giannis. He cooled off in the second half, but his presence on the court felt like a reminder to the Warriors that they must guard the three point line. What a novel concept for this (sometimes) inept Bucks team.
  • The Buck’s defense was outstanding all night. They held the Warriors to just 40.9% shooting overall and 23.2% from behind the arc. They were able to provide double team and guard the three point line thanks to seamless rotations and incredible hustle around the three point line. For instance, in the second quarter, the Warriors held a slim 33-32 lead and were poised to blow the game open. But the Bucks were able to force a 24 second violation after giving up an offensive rebound. Normally the Bucks play good defense for about eighteen seconds and whatever happens, happens.They kept up the defensive tenacity all night, and never allowed the Warriors to go on a KO run.
  • Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
  • The Bucks showed rare poise, absorbing the Warriors’s punches and then hitting them with counter-punches of their own. Like in the third quarter when the Warriors hit the Bucks with a 14-5 run to get within one point at 70-69. The bad Bucks would have folded right then and there. But Saturday’s version of the Bucks hit the Warriors in the chest with an 8-1 run of their own.
  • Jabari Parker has arrived. He scored a season-high nineteen points on 9-14 shooting and looked very, very smooth while doing it. He shook Draymond Green repeatedly and was rewarded with a handful of easy shots. Here’s one such dunk (with the epic sliding assist from Juice, of course).

Next: Reactions: The Bad

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