Milwaukee Bucks: What’s trending through the ninth week of the season

Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s playing time has been a rising trend for the Milwaukee Bucks.

After having fallen out of the Bucks’ rotation in favor of Torrey Craig, Thanasis Antetokounmpo has emerged back in the fold for head coach Mike Budenholzer.

It was midway through the Bucks’ second loss to the Toronto Raptors last week where the elder Antetokounmpo re-emerged in the Bucks’ rotation to give an emotional lift to a squad that sorely needed one.

Budenholzer has since looked to Thanasis to spell his brother for limited minutes and he hasn’t been short on energy, to say the least. The energy and tenacity that Thanasis has brought to the floor has helped him attack the boards with on both ends and bring down the house with the putback dunks he’s specialized in supplying.

As Antetokounmpo starts cracking double-digit minutes again, the Bucks have felt the energetic boost he gives, even if that isn’t reflected in his own box scores. The Bucks are 7-2 when Thanasis plays 10 or more minutes on a given night.

Given the state of the Bucks at the point where he surfaced back into the rotation, there was no better week for Thanasis to give the team a jolt, which has certainly been contagious for his teammates. As they continue to manage on without Holiday, Antetokounmpo’s minutes should stay intact.