Milwaukee Bucks: The Growing Importance Of Thon Maker

The Milwaukee Bucks’ current playoff run has given us a taste of a promising future that’s seemingly on the horizon. While they’ve had other standout performers, the stunning impact of rookie Thon Maker gives them a higher chance of making that a reality.

In what feels like one fell swoop, the Milwaukee Bucks are on the brink of elimination in their first round series with the Toronto Raptors.

The Bucks’ backs are now up against the proverbial wall after they got shellacked by the Raptors on Monday night, losing 118-93. As the series turns back to Milwaukee with the Raptors leading the series 3-2, it’s clearly do-or-die time for the Bucks come Thursday night.

Regardless of the final outcome of this series, however, nothing diminishes what the future holds for the Bucks. We’ve had evidence of great growth throughout the season, and in this series.

More from Bucks News

All eyes have been on Giannis Antetokounmpo as he has continued to perform to the level he was able to maintain throughout his spectacular breakout season. Along with Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have had impressive showings from players making their first trip to the postseason with the team like Greg Monroe and Tony Snell.

And then there’s been rookie Thon Maker, who has made a surprising impact for the Bucks all throughout the series.

During the regular season, it was fair to wonder what Maker’s role would look like, or if there was even one for him in a playoff series with the Raptors. After all, the majority of Maker’s minutes came at the top of every game and at the start of the second half, save for the occasions where Maker’s play warranted him earning more playing time, even in crucial late game stretches.

On top of that, it didn’t help that the Raptors boast a bruising and brutish front line, one that would theoretically pose a problem for the long, but still lean Maker. But as we’ve seen throughout this series, Maker has more than just held his own during his time on the floor and he’s provided much more than the usual spark we’ve seen, especially on the defensive end.

We’ve seen him keep pace with many of the Raptors’ guards on the perimeter as they attempt to turn the corner and attack the paint. The same goes for his ability to drop back and recover to block shots around the basket.

It’s this promise that Maker possesses as a defensive stalwart — something that has the Raptors thinking twice when they navigate in or around the paint — that no one could have anticipated seeing so soon from him at this point in his brief career.

On the offensive end, while most of Maker’s shooting numbers in the playoffs are down from his season averages, he has shown a more complete offensive package during this postseason run.

He’s had his usual opportunities to pick-and-pop from beyond the three-point line, but he’s also capitalized more by cutting to the basket and slamming it home. Additionally, Maker has increasingly been able to read and react to the defense in order to make timely passes, which has resulted in him averaging two assists per game as well as an assist percentage of 15.6 percent throughout the playoffs.

When you combine what we saw from Maker’s minutes during the regular season and what we’ve seen of him throughout the postseason, it only leads you to wonder how much of his potential he’ll realize, and how that will define the team’s ceiling in the long run.

So much of this season has been learning everything about Maker, since we had so little to go off of with him prior to this point.

Despite any reservations many may have had over the selection on draft night, it was easy to get behind a person like Maker after our first impressions of his character, work ethic and the life he has led to make it to the NBA.

From there, it was only easier to champion Thon, whether it was the brief flashes we saw from him early in the year or his growing influence on the team watching him interact on the bench and reading the exceptional profile written on him by Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck.

That’s what makes following him this season something to remember, and seeing it culminate in an incredibly encouraging playoff run on both an individual and team level is what makes this ride all the more thrilling to experience.

With that said, we’re still far away from seeing the finished product Maker will become, even when taking into account how far he’s come along during his rookie season. That shouldn’t sway us from looking into the future and seeing how Maker only brightens what was already a hopeful future for this team, though.

Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Is Giannis Antetokounmpo Ready For His Playoff Moment?

For now, the talk of the future will have to be put on hold as we all await Thursday night. While we all hope for the best in the meantime, it’s safe to say we’ve learned more about where this team could be heading, thanks to what we’ve seen from Maker.

Home/Bucks News