Week 22 of the NBA season was arguably the worst collective week for the Milwaukee Bucks this season. They lost all five of their games. Through all the losing, three players stood above the rest and earned their place in the player of the week rankings.
Well that was disappointing. This was probably the worst week of the entire season for the Milwaukee Bucks. They competed hard in their games, but did not show up enough to get any victories.
There is some solace in the fact that the Bucks had to play four out of their five games against teams with winning records. However, with five games in one week you would expect something should have broke Milwaukee’s way.
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The bench unit that played so well last week struggled this week. That struggle, coupled with the fact that they played so many more minutes, was a major detriment to the Bucks success this week. To blame it all on the bench would be inappropriate, however.
Milwaukee’s starters also played pretty poorly too. They struggled to build leads and make things happen to help the Bucks win basketball games. It was a shoddy team effort and no one individual is to blame.
I am not here to talk about how bad the Bucks played as a team or individually. I am here to talk about who on the team performed the best. In an 0-5 week like this, this article becomes very challenging to develop. When no one plays particularly well how do you construct a player of the week rankings?
Well I have done just that. It is not pretty and it does not shine with glorious moments that will go down in Bucks history. It is not the Milwaukee Bucks player of the week rankings we deserve, but it is the one we need right now.
Without further ado, let’s get to it!
Next: Money Money Money
Milwaukee Bucks Player of the Week Rankings
1. ???
2. ???
3. Khris Middleton
Khash played in all five games this week and averaged 32.0 minutes, 14.4 points (on 52.6 percent shooting), 1.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He led the Milwaukee Bucks in steals and was second in points and assists. Additionally, he had the fourth highest plus/minus on the team for all players who played in all the games with -5.2.
Khris Middleton played okay this week. Fortunately, for him, okay was all that was needed to make it into the player of the week rankings. As usual, Middleton was a jack of all trades. He continued to play well enough on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, Middleton made over half his shots this week from the field this week, stretched the floor by shooting multiple three pointers per game, and hit 100 percent of the free throws he attempted. In no way was this an above average week for Middleton on the scoring front, but his play was solid.
When it came to getting teammates involved in the offense, only one player on the Bucks was better than Middleton this week. Khris is such a willing passer and when defenses respect him for the scorer he is, he can make them pay by finding his open teammates with ease. The Bucks are always a more competitive team when Middleton is distributing effectively, even though this week seems to be an outlier to that trend.
Defensively, Middleton did not do anything special but he was effective. As I mentioned last week, Middleton is pacing the NBA in steals per game since the All Star break. Even though his steal numbers went down somewhat this week, he did enough to still remain tops in the league in that category. He has averaged 2.5 steals per game since the break.
Khris is a master at forcing the opposing player into mistakes. He creates turnovers as well as any other NBA player. He plays the passing lanes and knows exactly what he can and cannot do when he checks offensive players and goes for steals. It is fun to watch Khris play defense.
So it wasn’t his best week. Khris did his job on a regular basis. Even though that shouldn’t get anyone too excited, doing your job was all that was necessary to get you into the player of the week rankings this week. No one on the Bucks has done their job more consistently than Middleton this season. His constant effectiveness is going to be important for the future of this team.
Next: Daddy Longlegs
Milwaukee Bucks Player of the Week Rankings
1. ???
2. John Henson
3. Khris Middleton
J-Hook played in all five games this week and averaged 22.2 minutes, 11.8 points (on 63.2 percent shooting), 4.8 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 2.2 blocks. He led the Milwaukee Bucks in blocks and was fourth in points and rebounds. Additionally, he had the third highest plus/minus on the team for all players who played in all the games with -2.4.
John Henson makes only his second appearance on the player of the week rankings because he made a significant impact in only a few minutes. If you look at his per 36 minute averages from this week you can see what I am talking about. Per 36 he averaged 19.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks. For all Bucks that played in all the games this week, he led the team in points, rebounds, and blocks per 36 minutes.
Another major contributor to his efficiency was his shooting percentage. Like many big guys, Henson rarely takes shots 10 feet away from the basket. Even so, averaging anything over 50 percent from the field is always a significant accomplishment no matter where you are shooting from. Henson made over 63 percent of his shots this week. That is excellent.
Henson rebounded 15.7 percent of available offensive rebounds when he was in the game this week. That is the seventh best mark in the NBA for players who played in all five of their last five games. John was a headache for the opposing team to box out. His tenacity on the offensive glass helped him create more shot opportunities for himself and his teammates.
Defensively, John was a terror. He blocked so many shots and constantly made the offense reevaluate what they were going to do while he was in the game. Only four NBA players blocked more shots per game than Henson did in their past five games. Only one of those four players played fewer minutes per game than Henson.
When he has been healthy this season, there have been few players comparable to Henson as shot blockers. John alters so many shots that that alone may make his recent contract extension worth it for the Bucks.
Like Khris Middleton before him, John Henson did his job this week. He blocked shots and caused problems for opposing offenses. He collected rebounds at a solid rate too. Adding on to that his effective shooting percentage and Henson actually exceeded his job description this week. That was more than enough to earn him the second spot in the player of the week rankings.
Next: Greek Freak
Milwaukee Bucks Player of the Week Rankings
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
2. John Henson
3. Khris Middleton
The Alphabet played in all five games this week and averaged 34.2 minutes, 15.2 points (on 49.3 percent shooting), 6.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.6 blocks. He led the Milwaukee Bucks in points, rebounds, and assists and was second in steals and blocks. Additionally, he had the fifth highest plus/minus on the team for all players who played in all the games with -5.4.
This was one of Giannis’ worst weeks since the All-Star Break yet he still placed in the top two on Milwaukee for every major statistical category. That is insanity. It goes to show both how good Giannis Antetokounmpo is and and how badly the Bucks performed collectively and as individuals this week.
Only four NBA players averaged at least 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block over their past five games: Draymond Green, Paul Millsap, Al Horford, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Also, Giannis had the fewest turnovers per game of any of those four. Even in his bad weeks the Greek Freak is doing things that no other NBA player can match.
Giannis was a really efficient passer this week. His assist to turnover ratio was a crisp 3.83. He had the 23rd best assist to turnover ratio in the NBA for players who played in all of their past five games and averaged at least 20 minutes per game. That does not seem like a crazy deal, but for Giannis to have decreased his turnovers while maintaining his heavy offensive load is pretty impressive. Especially considering that he is averaging 2.5 turnovers per game this season.
On the defensive side of things Antetokounmpo was effective but not as impactful as he has been lately. He did average one steal and one and a half blocks per game though, which is undoubtedly very good. We have just gotten so used to amazing Giannis that very good Giannis does not impress us as much at used to.
Here are some great defensive highlights from the Greek Freak.
GET THAT WEAK STUFF OUTTA HERE:
A ROYAL REJECTION:
CHASE DOWN:
Watching Giannis blow plays up with his length is always fun. I hope you enjoyed those clips as much as I did. Each one of those defensive plays is so different. The variety of shots that Giannis can challenge makes him one of the most formidable shot blockers in the association.
It is sad to see the Bucks struggle so much, but watching Giannis makes things a lot easier on the eyes. Antetokounmpo is, on his own, must see television. Because of him the future for Milwaukee is very bright.
Giannis was far and away the best Milwaukee Bucks player this week. All that it took for him to earn the honor was lead the team in points, rebounds, and assists while placing second on the team in both blocks and steals. I feel like any time a player can do that, they automatically deserve player of the week honors.
Next: Week 22 Wrap Up
Week 22 Wrap Up
Five games and five losses makes for a tough week for the Milwaukee Bucks. This season has been really hard and this week was the icing on the cake. Hopefully the team can learn lessons from their struggle while moving closer to a better draft pick.
Next week the Bucks play just two games. They play against two of the worst teams in the league so maybe it will be a chance to establish one final winning streak before the season ends. Hopefully Milwaukee just continues to play hard and gives it all they have every night so the fans have something fun to watch for the rest of the season.
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The season is quickly coming towards an end for the Bucks. Milwaukee has just eight games left now. It seems like just yesterday we were watching Khris Middleton in the three-point contest and wondering if the Bucks could make a legitimate run at the eighth seed in the playoffs.
The only way to describe this season is as a disappointment in terms of on the court performance. On the more optimistic side of things, however, when it comes to player development for the future of the franchise this season was a major success.
Jabari Parker, Giannis, and Khris all have gotten better this season. Adding a top 10 draft pick to that core could improve Milwaukee’s chances to own the future.
Next: Editorial: The Bucks Are Owning The Future Already
Player of the Week Rankings over the course of the season
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (8), Greg Monroe (6),Khris Middleton (4), Michael Carter-Williams (2), Jabari Parker (1), Jerryd Bayless (1)
2. Khris Middleton (8), Giannis Antetokounmpo (7), Greg Monroe (5), Michael Carter-Williams (2), John Henson (1)
3. Jabari Parker (6), Michael Carter-Williams (4), Khris Middleton (4), Jerryd Bayless (3), Greg Monroe (2), Giannis Antetokounmpo (1), John Henson (1), Miles Plumlee (1)