The Milwaukee Bucks are 9-9 on the season after a 2-8 start. Their dreadful first 10-game stretch of the season included an early six-game losing streak. This poor start to the year had many fans and analysts calling for head coach Doc Rivers to be fired, and many outside of Milwaukee speculated (as they have for years) that star Giannis Antetokounmpo would demand a trade.
Nearly all of these rumors have died down with the Bucks’ improvement in their last eight games. Indeed, if it had not been for a phantom foul call that officials admitted was a mistake at the end of Milwaukee’s game against the Charlotte Hornets on November 16, the Bucks would be on an eight-game winning streak.
As it stands, Milwaukee has won five in a row and seven of their last eight. Their most recent win, a 106-103 nailbiter against the Miami Heat, was achieved without Giannis, who was a late scratch due to a knee injury.
The Absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo Showed What Has Changed Already about the Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis played in nine of Milwaukee’s first 10 games and averaged 31.6 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per games. In their last eight (of which he has played seven), the two-time NBA MVP is averaging 33.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game.
While his scoring average obviously went up, so too did his assist numbers.
The same trend can be seen looking at Damian Lillard‘s numbers in the first 10 games of the season compared to the last eight. During Milwaukee’s awful start, Lillard averaged 26.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game. In his last five games (he missed three after suffering a concussion when an official inadvertently hit him in the head), Dame is averaging 26.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game.
The difference/improvement is not that Giannis and Lillard are passing the ball more. It is that their teammates are making more shots than they were before.
Additionally, a great deal of credit must be given to head coach Doc Rivers, who has not been patient with lineups and rotations that performed poorly early on. He has found which players thrive in certain situations and has put them in a position to be successful.
One player, especially, has taken advantage of his increased role on the team.
Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Point Guard Damian Lillard Has High Praise for AJ Green
One player that has quickly become a fan favorite is third-year guard AJ Green. Always a prolific three-point shooter, Green has earned more playing time due to his defense. Earlier this season, Giannis had high praise for Green’s defensive efforts, saying “In my opinion, he’s a really, really good defender and he shows in practice. He shows it in games, you guys are seeing that. Like he’s not a liability on defense, he’s actually one of our better defenders on the team.”
In the win over Miami, Green had nine points while shooting 3-7 from three. Two of his made three’s came in the final quarter, in the final minutes of the game, to help keep the Bucks ahead. Even though he had been rather cold from the floor prior to those moments, his team wanted him to have the ball in those situations. Specifically, Lillard wanted him to have the ball.
After the game, Lillard said of Green:
“Sniper, I say that all the time, If you watch AJ pre-game, if you watch him before practice, he’s spinning the ball out to himself, running full speed catching it and raising up quick with his momentum, off the dribble, off the catch, spinning out, curling out, every spot on the floor. I literally sit in the chair on the sideline before practice and watch him do it every day.
“It’s a reason why I trust him that much because I know his confidence and I know that he works on that stuff. So, whether he didn’t have a shot all night or whether he had shot a lot of balls, whenever he raises up, I feel good about it.”
One has to imagine that Green’s pregame routine must be a sight to behold if it makes a legend such as Lillard pull up a chair to watch it happen.
Green is averaging a career-high 7.9 points this season while shooting a blistering 47.7% from three.
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