Milwaukee Bucks: Looking at the 3 stars of the week following road trip

The Milwaukee Bucks’ second star of the week — Giannis Antetokounmpo

After compiling his fourth triple-double of the season, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been playing up to his dominating, stat-stuffing self. Yet the Bucks are mired in this current losing streak in spite of Antetokounmpo’s dominance.

Perhaps the most encouraging element of Antetokounmpo’s performances as of late is the improved shooting he has displayed going to the free throw line.

We all know the struggles Antetokounmpo has had at the line over his back-to-back MVP seasons and he slipped even further to start this 2020-21 season. Now, the 26-year-old has consistently raised his free throw efficiency considerably, which was helped by hitting a season-high 17 free throws in the Bucks’ loss to the Suns.

For all of the gushing over the strides Antetokounmpo has made over the course of the season, it has yet to translate to consistent success for the Bucks this year. Of course, that goes beyond Antetokounmpo’s power and the Bucks currently being without Jrue Holiday right now has stood as a glaring problem.

Nevertheless, the improvement Giannis has shown in recent weeks is a necessary one to establish legitimacy for both himself and the Bucks as a whole.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ third star of the week — Bryn Forbes

While this spot usually reserved for the Bucks’ bench players, Bryn Forbes has had to serve in emergency spot starts due to Holiday being in health and safety protocols.

Forbes has brought his elite sharpshooting to the Bucks’ starting unit and has largely given the Bucks a major lift offensively where he hit double figures in three of the Bucks’ last four games. In his first two starts of the season, Forbes shot a combined 8-for-14 from three in Denver and Phoenix and his floor spacing has given both Antetokounmpo and Middleton the ability to smoothly operate.

Unfortunately, by playing more minutes, Forbes’ defensive limitations have emerged to the forefront, especially when paired with a smaller guard such as Donte DiVincenzo.

Still, the Bucks’ offense has taken a major leap in part due to Forbes’ presence and elite shotmaking skills. The fact that he’s shown to be a capable scorer when putting the ball on the floor after getting run off the 3-point line makes him more than just a specialist in some ways.

There’s no question that Forbes has provided the Bucks and their bench unit a scoring punch and his best outings have certainly come when sharing the floor with the team’s cornerstones.

We’ll be back again next week as the Bucks open up an extended homestand. Hopefully, that will come with improved results too.