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Milwaukee Bucks Grades, Reactions From 100-88 Loss to N.Y. Knicks

By Jeff Herrmann

Jan 10, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Milwaukee Bucks small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) controls the ball against the New York Knicks during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Milwaukee Bucks small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) controls the ball against the New York Knicks during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Reactions: The Good

  • Jabari Parker might be closer than we think. It starts with his jumper. Though he will likely never be a feared threat from three point range, he could become a solid mid-range scorer. Under Prunty it appears Parker has been given the green light on open jumpers. Against the Knicks Parker was able to knock down 4-6 of his attempts from outside the paint. He finished with fourteen points on 7-12 shooting. He rebounded effectively, too–pulling in six total.
  • Parker passed the eye test against the Knicks as he sprinted around the court chasing rebounds, closing out shooters (with BOTH hands up), and giving top-level effort. He’s getting better on paper, too. And that’s a HUGE reason the Derrick Williams comparisons (which cropped up on Twitter) should be disregarded. You want to see incremental progress in young players. So haters, eat your heart out.
  • Parker has increased his scoring average month to month from 9.7 to 11.4 to 12.2 (Nov-Jan). Meanwhile, his rebounds per game has increased from 3.4 to 4.6 to 5.8. Throw in the fact he’s scored in double digits in six straight games while shooting at a near-.500 clip (over that span) and it becomes clear his progress needle is trending upwards. So take a hard look at stats before labeling him a Derrick Williams-level bust.
  • The other half of the Own the Future duo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, is going through a scoring funk. He scored just eight points (on 3-9 shooting) and missed all four of his threes (one of which was an air-ball). But he didn’t let that stop him from hauling in ten rebounds and handing out five assists. Many players tend to sag their overall game when the offense isn’t flowing. Giannis doesn’t.
  • Here’s the Greek Freak delivering Jabari Parker a perfect no look bounce pass in transition along with a nice find in traffic.
  • I’d be remiss if I didn’t give the rookie a shout in this section. With O.J. Mayo out, Rashad Vaughn called on the pick up the slack. In a career-high 29 minutes, Vaughn scored a career-high  ten points on 3-6 shooting and made 2-3 attempts from three. Looks for Vaughn’s minutes to gradually increase as the Bucks playoff odds continue their gradual decrease.

Next: Reactions: The Bad

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