Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Loss To Orlando Magic

Mixed Bag for Jabari

With Giannis struggling, Jabari needed to have one of his better games for the Bucks to have a chance at the win.

Offensively, he was mostly on par to what the team needed. The team tried to get him going early with a set play followed by a couple of isolation opportunities. He erupted in the second quarter to keep the game within reach finishing the half with 19 points.

He did come out of his slump, ending with 25 points, shooting 8-17 from the field (3-6 from three) and he even got to the line and shot 6-7. Although he did struggle to take care of the ball turning it over four times. Honestly, he could have easily had a few more, too.

The biggest moments for him may be when Giannis is sitting on the bench. On Friday, the Magic went on a couple of huge runs when Jabari was on the floor as the team’s top option. In these situations, he needs to step up on both ends of the floor. If the team has no rim protection, he needs to play like he did when Giannis was ill and try his best to challenge shots.

The third year forward once again struggled to react as the game played out. He always seemed to be waiting to see if the ball was going into the rim before he looked to box out. Jabari may be trying to conserve energy, or his instincts for that area of the game may just not be there. Hopefully, it’s the energy and he can improve defensively. His efforts when Giannis was out ill seem to point to him conserving energy. It’s okay for a young player to go through this, so long as he breaks the habit.

Ultimately, it’s just a great sign to see him play confidently on offense. The more confident he plays on that end of the floor, the closer he becomes to being a premier scorer in this league.