Of those not named Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is your Most Valuable Player?
Coffman: This is a very hard decision between Jabari Parker and Greg Monroe for me. Both have improved drastically from last season, Parker adding a 37 percent three-point stroke and Moose reinventing himself as a defensive ace. In a vacuum, Jabari is the better player and would be assigned a higher value, so I’ll go with him, but it’s very close in my mind. Although he gets overshadowed by Giannis frequently, there have been nights this season where it’s easy to see why many had him pegged as the next LeBron coming out of high school. Defense is still a work in progress and consistency hasn’t quite yet been achieved, but Major Cat is looking like a lethal second option for the Bucks going forward.
Schlepp: Greg Monroe is my inaugural Not-Named-Giannis-MVP. Whenever the offense stagnates or shots just don’t fall, Greg is there for the consistent points. He’s still one of the most skilled post players in the world and he’s finally showing off his elite passing skills. He looks quicker than he’s ever looked and he has excellent chemistry with his fellow bench players. He’s contributing on both ends of the floor and aside from Giannis, that can’t really be said of any of the other players on the team.
Katti: It depends on how you define “valuable.” Greg Monroe has had a vastly improved second season in Milwaukee, and has been a strong veteran presence for the young Bucks. If you look back at the Celtics game on January 28th, the reason the Bucks had a chance to win that game was because of the Moose. He has been criticized for his defense in the past, but this season, he has not been a defensive liability. Whether this is because he is in a potential contract year or not, Monroe has been solid this season.
Heffernon: It has to be Jabari. He has floundered a bit as of late but he has truly had a fantastic third season. He can score all over the court and he is going to be an elite scorer in the NBA as soon as next season. He has shown in spurts this year that he can play solid defense, rebound, and facilitate the offense. If he can become just a bit more consistent in those areas of the game next year, especially defensively, he will likely be an All Star.
McGee: I’d go Jabari, but only just. It hangs in the balance between him and Moose right now. Jabari needs to have a strong second half of the year for the Bucks to have any chance of success, but his improved shooting and effortless scoring played a major role in the good they’ve shown up to this point too.
Treske: For me, it has to be Greg Monroe, with Jabari just on his heels.
Everyone, including myself, were already writing off his time in Milwaukee by the end of last year, thinking that his signing was worth the risk but one that ultimately wouldn’t work out in the long run. Now, as Adam and I talked about in this week’s Win in 6 (breaks out conch shell and yells “SHAMELESS PLUG!”), he has become exactly what all of us were hoping for two summers ago and then some if you consider his incredible impact on the defensive end.
Given how Miles Plumlee and John Henson are essentially a wrestling tag team that replaces one another on a bi-weekly basis and leave everyone disappointed (I’m accepting tag team names, by the way), it only makes Monroe’s turn that much more valuable for the Bucks and you can only imagine where they’d be without him this year.
Wray: This is really tough. With the deciding vote, I’m going with Johnny O’B…Jabari, just.
It’s too hard for me to look past the rapid improvement to his three-point shooting, from virtually ignoring the shot last season to flirting with 40 percent for most of the year on more than three-and-a-half attempts per game is exceptional. Obviously, there are valid defensive concerns, but there is no questioning his offensive talent as he’s already a potent 20-points per game weapon and definitely on track to evolve into the All-Star caliber scorer he was projected to be when the Bucks drafted him.
Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Player of the Week (Jan 22 – 28)
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