Milwaukee Bucks: What’s trending in the seventh week of the season
What a banner week it was for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Riding a four-game winning streak, the Bucks cleaned up against the competition both at home as well as on the road by picking wins over the Portland Trail Blazers, Indiana Pacers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. They did so by a combined 91 points and improved to 15-8 on the year, which only ranks behind the East-leading Philadelphia 76ers.
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While the Bucks’ bigger challenges on the road come this week, they certainly looked to have ironed out some of the early season inconsistencies that have nagged at them in their run so far this season.
So without further ado, let’s look at some of the biggest trends that emerged from the Milwaukee Bucks’ undefeated week.
Bryn Forbes has been a rising trend for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Standing as one of the Bucks’ many offseason additions, we certainly got our biggest look at Bryn Forbes‘ sharpshooting last week.
Forbes was on absolute tear as he scored in double figures over three of Milwaukee’s four wins by averaging 15 points per game while shooting 23-for-38 from the field (60.5 percent) and was 14-for-22 from downtown (63.6 percent). That brings his season averages to 8.8 points on .481/.478/.706 shooting, a rebound and 0.5 assist over 23 appearances this season.
Like all of the Bucks’ depth additions, Forbes has had his ups and downs throughout the season, specifically with his shot. Yet if his play last week but was any indication of what Forbes is capable of the rest of the season and beyond, Forbes will command a lot of attention when he’s on the floor.
As we saw with Kyle Korver last season, the Bucks and head coach Mike Budenholzer know how to integrate a 3-point shooting specialist within their system. The fact that Forbes and superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo developed chemistry early on in the season has been incredibly helpful in getting the the 27-year-old Forbes settled into Milwaukee.
Being a threat off the ball and running all over the floor, whether in the open floor or in halfcourt situations, Forbes works hard to get himself open looks and bending opposing defenses in ways that help his teammates. That was certainly seen this week, clearly.
Of course, Forbes’ defensive limitations and deficiencies are why his minutes are capped in defined spurts. Per NBA.com/stats, Forbes has the highest defensive rating of all Bucks players at 112.9 points per 100 possessions this season. Still, as long as he’s shooting the ball to the degree he has been, he can make a positive impact on the squad and maintain their league-leading offense over his minutes.