Bucks are more than just Giannis
The headline story going into this game was that the Bucks would have to win without Giannis, their star player who is having an MVP-type season with averages of 25 points and 14 rebounds for the 6-0 Bucks. We wondered how the Bucks could play without their best player and unquestioned leader.
The answer: pretty good! Without being able to lean on Giannis for offense and rebounding, Budenholzer dipped into his bench more than he normally does in a close game and the players delivered. For the first time this season, Maker and Pat Connaughton got consistent, meaningful minutes outside of garbage time. Both delivered.
Maker went 4-of-7 from the field in 23 minutes including 2-of-4 on threes for 11 points off the bench along with seven rebounds and mostly solid defense. It wasn’t exactly PLAYOFF THON mode, but it was better than normal regular season Thon so that was promising to see.
Connaughton also made the most of his 16 minutes of playing time off the bench, chipping in eight points, including going 2-of-4 from behind the arc and gathering eight rebounds.
Tony Snell also had his best game of the season with a season-high 11 points off the bench including a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the three-point line. Snell’s performance resulted in a +20 plus/minus, best on the team outside of Malcolm Brogdon.
All in all, 11 different Bucks players scored, with seven of them getting into double-figures. Eight different Bucks players also hit at least one three-pointer, causing headaches for the Raptors defense that was already stretched thin without Leonard as well as Fred VanVleet and O.G. Anunoby also out with injury.
Not only was it impressive for Milwaukee’s offense to put up 124 points without their leading scorer, but they also managed to score despite their second-leading scorer, Khris Middleton, struggling for the majority of the game. After three quarters of play, Middleton was just 1-of-7 from the field and only had five points. In the entire third quarter, Middleton didn’t score or assist on a single bucket.
Despite that, the Bucks led the Raptors by 15 going into the 4th quarter. That’s incredible. Last season, could we even assume the Bucks would score 95 points in the entire game without Giannis and Middleton for the most part? This year’s Bucks did it in three quarters.
Other notables include Ilyasova having a great game filling in for Giannis in the starting lineup as he scored 19 points on an efficient shooting line of 8-of-12 from the field. Ilyasova came out hot in the first quarter, notching seven early points while also taking a charge on defense (the Ersan special) and grabbing offensive rebounds. He set the tone for the entire game.
Brogdon also had his best game in trying to fill in for Giannis’ missed production with a season-high 17 points. Brogdon was aggressive from the jump, regularly penetrating the Raptors defense and doing a great job of finishing around the rim and setting up teammates. His +27 plus/minus lead all players.
The Bucks not only made a statement to the rest of the NBA but also to themselves. Yes, this is Giannis’ team and will only go as far as he can take them in the playoffs, but they are far from a “one-man team”.
The Bucks have quality players at every position in the starting lineup and coming off the bench who can contribute in multiple ways whether it’s Snell’s shooting, Connaughton and DiVincenzo’s athleticism (we need a nickname for this bench duo) or Henson’s defense.
This was an important game to instill confidence in the role players for the Bucks. If Giannis’ injury lingers, or he sustains another one later this season that forces him out for a couple of games, or if he’s just in foul trouble and has to sit out for long stretches of a game, the rest of the team knows they’re capable of picking up the slack.