A Christmas gift for each Milwaukee Bucks player this holiday season

Milwaukee Bucks: Brook Lopez, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Wesley Matthews

Brook Lopez: A smooth recovery from surgery

Perhaps the most important X-factor player when it comes to the Bucks’ title hopes, if Brook Lopez can return and be close to what we’ve seen from him in the last couple of seasons, they should be considered the favorites in the East.

But back surgeries are a tricky thing to recover from and there’s no way of knowing how Lopez will look when he returns (which is also unclear at this point). He’s an incredibly crucial piece to the Bucks’ defense, I don’t need to tell you that, so having him back at near full strength would be huge.

Sandro Mamukelashvili: More time in the G League

It may sound weird for a player that has had good flashes in his NBA minutes to want more time in the G League, but that’s what would be best for Sandro Mamukelashvili’s development. He’s been solid when called upon at times, but his skillset gets limited by having a lesser role.

Mamukelashvili has unique ball-handling and passing skills for his size and he’s able to show that more in the G League with more offensive freedom. Once the Bucks get healthy and don’t need to rely as much on the rookie, he should get more opportunities with the Wisconsin Herd to grow his game.

Wesley Matthews: Continue to be a solid option off the bench

I’ll be honest, I didn’t understand the slightly displeased reactions from Bucks fans when Wesley Matthews’ signing was reported. He was a solid wing player for them in his first stint, but it was clear he couldn’t be a starter on a championship team.

There was no expectation that he’d be a starter in his second stint and thus far, he has been a very solid option off the bench for Budenholzer. He has hit the 3 at a very good clip through his first handful of games and looks like he belongs. Just keep doing what you’re doing, Wesley.