In our most recent Milwaukee Bucks Twitter mailbag, Ti Windisch answers Bucks questions concerning the Bucks first five games.
Hello and welcome to the Milwaukee Bucks mailbag! In order to connect even further with Behind the Buck Pass readers we’ve decided to try a second mailbag–in addition to the one featured on the Win in 6 podcast, now we’ll have a text mailbag as well!
We took questions both on my Twitter and the BTBP account this time around. Be sure to ask away next Friday if you have any burning Bucks questions. Without further ado, let’s get to the questions!
Is Jabari in the top 3 best players of the season thus far? I know he got back on last night but troubling?
— Matt McClannahan (@MattMcClannahan) November 4, 2016
For clarification on this I reached out to Matt, who assured me he is indeed talking about top three Bucks. I think saying Jabari Parker has been the fourth best Buck this season is a valid opinion; Giannis Antetokounmpo, Matthew Dellavedova and Greg Monroe have all had hot starts, and they’ve all been better than Jabari on defense.
Still, I would say Moose and Delly playing well enough to rank about Jabari is exciting, not troubling. Jabari has been better than I expected for the most part this season–his defense isn’t visually attractive, but it’s not been Enes Kanter-level bad.
As the chemistry continues to improve and Jabari continues to get more and more experience, I have no doubt he’ll end up being a fantastic NBA player. He kind of already is, honestly. The worry about him through five games–and even earlier this season–has felt unnecessary from the jump.
Would a Bucks and Sacramento Kings championship signify the end of life itself?
— Ryne (@rynestone_) November 4, 2016
Yes. Yes it would. But if that’s what it takes for the Milwaukee Bucks to get their second championship, I know some Bucks fans who would gladly welcome the apocalypse.
Heard a rumor about a trade involving Klay Thompson, Middleton & Jabari. What's going on?
— Bobbarooski (@Bobbarooski) November 4, 2016
A lot is going on, but a Bucks-Warriors trade involving Klay Thompson is not going to happen. Klay is struggling, so some rumors have gotten started about him being traded. That’s not something the Warriors would even consider.
The Bucks wouldn’t give up Jabari and Khris Middleton for Klay either. Middleton is the closest approximation to what Klay can offer, so getting a moderate upgrade for the price of Jabari Parker just isn’t a logical deal. This is just an internet rumor, through and through.
How do you feel about the bench rotation that Kidd has been implementing, especially with GA getting more rest?
— Mike Johrendt (@MJohrendt23) November 4, 2016
I am legitimately thrilled about how the rotations have worked, especially in the last few games. The Bucks contest against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday is a good example–after about five and a half minutes in the first quarter, Giannis went out for Mirza Teletovic.
Jabari Parker played for the next few minutes, before Giannis came in for him. That’s called staggering minutes, and it worked remarkably well against Indiana. Keeping one of those two on the floor for most of the game is possible without exhausting either of them.
Case in point: Giannis and Jabari both played 33 minutes in that game. That’s an ideal amount for an NBA starter. The other thing worth noting is that John Henson caught a DNP-Coach’s Decision so Miles Plumlee and Greg Monroe could both get decent minutes.
That’s not the best thing for Henson, but it is for the team. There are really only enough minutes for two of these guys every night–we might see a lot more of those DNPs going around this season unless the Bucks unload a center.
what seems to be the reason for Plumlee's dropoff? He flashed a lot of potential with the O last year.
— NudBorris (@kpockey) November 4, 2016
Miles Plumlee getting paid is going to make life a lot harder for him in the court of public opinion. Plumlee had no expectations on him last season, until he came on strong with the starters and looked impressive towards the end of the year.
Even last season though, he didn’t do all that much that jumps off of a box score. His points and rebounds per 36 have fallen off, but in 70 minutes this year Plumlee has eight assists. Compared to the 16 assists he recorded in 870 minutes last season, that’s quite an improvement.
He’s having a slow start, but I wouldn’t be worried at all if not for the over-stocked center rotation on this team. If Plumlee catches a DNP-Coach’s Decision and Henson and Monroe both play really well, he might end up losing his minutes.
That’s tough to work out, considering the $50 million Milwaukee owes him. This center situation is dicey, and there’s not really any one easy solution presenting itself at this point.
Next: Milwaukee Bucks Players Of The Week
Thanks for all of the great questions, everybody! Check back next week for more answers.