It has been far from smooth sailing for the Milwaukee Bucks following their first 10-game stretch of the 2021-22 NBA season.
The defending champions are just 4-6 on the year, sitting at 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings. Of course, injuries and other issues have taken their toll on the Bucks. Brook Lopez has missed all but one game this season due to lingering back soreness, Jrue Holiday has missed a few games due to injuries and an illness, and Khris Middleton will be out of commission for quite some time after testing positive for COVID-19 recently. These issues have forced the team to dive deep into their bench and get a better look at this roster, which has been met with mixed results. With that being said, let us look at two studs and two duds from the first 10 games for the Bucks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a stud for the Milwaukee Bucks
With so many players injured early, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been forced to assume a far more sizeable workload for the Bucks.
Throughout 10 games, Antetokounmpo is putting up dominant numbers once again by averaging 27.3 points per game while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor. While his points and efficiency have dipped compared to the last few seasons, Antetokounmpo has tried expanding his game in the early going offensively. According to NBA.com/stats, Giannis is shooting 41.9 percent from the mid-range, which is the most efficient mark of his career. It is still a work in progress, but the mid-range jumper looks vastly improved for Antetokounmpo and has kept defenses on their toes. Rather than steamrolling to the basket, the Greek Freak continues to mix things up with jumpers more often than ever before, and the results are solid, despite a small sample size.
Sticking with the topic of offense, Antetokounmpo is also facilitating a career-best six assists per game to start the new season. With Middleton and Holiday both not around consistently to take on their share of ball-handling duties, Antetokounmpo has been tasked with filling in, which has been promising early on. One particular teammate that has benefitted from the MVP’s passing is Grayson Allen, who is shooting the basketball at a prolific level thanks to the gravity created by Antetokounmpo when the pair share the floor. More on Allen’s great start in a moment, as he is also having a great start to the season.
On the opposite end of the floor, Antetokounmpo has also been a force to be reckoned with as he is dominating defensively. Without Lopez available, the former Defensive Player of the Year has spent the majority of his time this season at center, and he has done an incredible job protecting the hoop. Averaging 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks, Antetokounmpo is stuffing the stat sheet while simultaneously making some highlight-reel level plays. He could be making a case to be an early favorite for 2022 Defensive Player of the Year.
All in all, Antetokounmpo’s numbers might be down compared to his previous seasons, but he is still making a sizeable impact on this depleted Milwaukee squad. Without so many regulars, it has been an early challenge, but the reigning Finals MVP is doing his part on both ends of the court.