Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Win Over Los Angeles Clippers
By Adam McGee
Moose Leading The Way
A finishing line of 24 points, five assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block, on 11-15 shooting, will likely grab the headlines from Greg Monroe’s performance on Friday night, but there was much more to it than that.
Monroe deserves, and has received, a lot of credit for his transformation in terms of attitude and energy this season. For a player who was often accused of a lack of effort or desire at times in his first season with the Bucks, the turnaround has been remarkable.
Monroe took that one step further on Friday, though, as not only was he leading the Bucks with his play, but he was leaving his mark as a leader in the locker room.
After dunking on Blake Griffin on one end of the floor, Monroe spotted Griffin push off on the considerably smaller Matthew Dellavedova, and so Moose responded with a push of his own when Griffin came down into the post.
Both players were assessed technical fouls, along with a common foul on Monroe, but it was the Bucks’ center’s willingness to stand up for his teammate that spoke volumes about how his role has changed within the locker room.
Jason Kidd reiterated post-game that he asks his players to look out for each other in that regard, and so he was happy to see Monroe stand up for his teammate.
"“He’s a great bodyguard. Stepping up and protecting one another is one of our rules, and I thought he did that seeing what happened with Griffin and Delly. Being in the middle of that is healthy.”"
Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Getting To Know Terrence Jones
The Bucks will be back in action on Saturday night at 7pm Central, as the Raptors are the visitors to the Bradley Center. Milwaukee’s record is now 27-33.