In a game they should have won, the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Chicago Bulls, 132-125. Turnovers and missed free throws doomed the Bucks against one of the few teams they entered the season with a legit chance to beat. A major blow, for sure, and now the team hits a long stretch of opponents with realistic playoff aspirations. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast,Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
Player Grades
Ryan Rollins
33 minutes, 11 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4
turnovers, 4 PF, 3/9 FG, 2/8 3P, –1
Well, Rollins did at least have a better floor game than against Washington, but he just couldn’t get the offence going like we know he can. Rollins started slow, going 1/5 in the first half, and never got the engine started. Crucially, three of his four turnovers came in the final frame. Not to put it all on him, but if Rollins plays like Rollins, the Bucks probably have two wins right now.
Grade: D
Tyler Herro
31 minutes, 34 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 turnover, 12/24 FG, 5/10 3P, +1
The lone bright spot throughout both games, Herro continues to fill it up. Sure, this was another team with plenty of bad defenders to pick at, but you can only play who’s in front of you. What I’ve liked most about Herro is the methodical pace he’s playing at; many of the Bucks’ sets are run for him, but he treats each possession with purpose and precision, using great cadence to catch the ball in the right spots, change pace off screens, etc. Of course, the confidence to step up and lead the fourth-quarter charge was awesome to watch on a bunch of levels. Herro’s efficent scoring, solid floor game, and lack of turnovers put him in the A-band for me. Great game.
Grade: A-
Jaime Jaquez Jr.
35 minutes, 19 points, 5 assists, 11 rebounds, 6 turnovers, 7/11 FG, 2/3 3P , 3/6 FT, +4
I mean, if you excuse the turnovers, Jaquez had another really solid game. He definitely tried to do too much at times, though; one no-pass possession in the fourth really got on my nerves. That said, Jaquez made some really nifty passes in traffic, including a nice slip pass to Kuzma and a nifty lob to Ware. The man also shot efficiently from deep, which obviously meant he would go 50% from the charity stripe. Ugh.
Grade: B
Kyle Kuzma
29 minutes, 14 points, 4 assists, 9 rebounds, 0 turnovers, 6/12 FG, 2/5 3P, +1
Kuzma was absolutely better in this one (low bar, I know). I liked the shots he took from the perimeter; they were the right shots to take within the offence. However, Kuz still had a few transition attempts where once he’d decided he was attacking, there was no talking him out of it. He’s going to lower that shoulder and euro-step every time; whatever happens from there, happens, LOL.
Grade: B-
Myles Turner
30 minutes, 12 points, 1 assist, 3 rebounds, 5 blocks, 5/12 FG, 2/7 3P, –13
Have not been impressed with Turner through two games. At seven feet tall, his inability to wall up and deter shots at the rim has been even more jarring without Giannis; Turner started with a nice transition block on Josh Giddey, but as the contest wore on, he became less and less effective. Heck, there was a possession where the 6’10”, 220-pound Leonard Miller pushed Turner out of the way under the basket to lay it in easily. This is to say nothing about his ability, or lack thereof, to defend in space nowadays. Oh, and Myles, when you catch it in the paint with a bunch of smaller guys nipping at your ankles, hold the ball high and put it in! Man, he’s just played so small to start the year.
Grade: D
Kel’el Ware
15 minutes, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 5/7 FG, 1/1 3P, +10
I did think Ware played with more vigour in this one, so kudos to him. Needed more urgency closing out to shooting bigs like Jalen Smith, though; a hand up isn’t enough; you need to make them put the ball on the floor.
Grade: C-
Kasparas Jakucionis
22 minutes, 7 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 2/4 FG, 1/2 3P, –4
Another very solid game from Jakucionis. I love the rhythm and pace he played with, taking what the defence gave him once he created an advantage, whether that was a layup, a lob, or a kickout. Crucially, as a big guard, he’s using his size to get downhill way more than he did last year in Miami. I also thought he was solid on defence yet again.
Grade: B+
Brayden Burries
8 minutes, 3 points, 3 assists, 4 PF, 1/3 FG, 1/3 3P, 0/2 FT, –6
Tough night for Burries, as will happen a lot this season—he is a rookie, after all. I do think the rook needs to be more aware of his closeouts on three-point shooters; that’s been a theme through the first two games, and he picked up a flagrant on Norman Powell in this one. All the little things add up.
Grade: D+
Ousmane Dieng
16 minutes, 3 points, 1 assist, 5 PF, 1/3 FG, –10
As I keep saying, Ous needs to take and make shots for this to work, and he didn’t. I also thought he went up soft on some crucial rebounding possessions in the fourth, not pursuing the ball as hard as the player below. Too many fouls as well.
Grade: D-
AJ Green
16 minutes, 11 points, 4/7 FG, 3/6 3P, –17
Green felt more involved in the offence. He hunted his shot—though I could have done without the near-half-court bomb in the fourth—and even ventured inside the line for a pull-up two off the roll-replace action. Most importantly, Green felt like one of the few players willing to get scrappy and fight for loose balls.
Grade: B-
Taylor Jenkins
Like the Washington game, if the Bucks did just one or two things at an average level, they probably would have won. Jenkins can’t do anything about guys turning the ball over and missing free throws. I will say, however, that rolling with Dieng for a fair stretch in the fourth quarter, given how he’d played up to that point, was puzzling. There was also a jarring possession where a Buck shot the ball, two guys competed for the offensive rebound, and two guys kinda just stood meandering around the basket, leading to a leak-out and dunk down the other end. We know Jenkins wants to send guys to the O-boards, but there needs to be a balance where, if you’re not in the play, you need to get back. I’m sure Jenkins relays a similar message, but if it’s not getting through, that’s ultimately on him.
Grade: C-
DNP-CD: Gary Trent Jr., Nate Ament, Bogoljub Markovic, Caris LeVert, Jericho Sims
Inactive: Kam Jones, Cormac Ryan, Pete Nance
What We Learnt
The Bucks are banging on the door of a victory and doing a lot right. However, this is a game of inches, and the little mistakes are adding up by the end of games.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Herro said his first official home game felt great. “Obviously we wanted to get a win… but my first time being back, playing in this uniform, on that court, in front of those fans—it was just a great moment. I was able to soak it in. I had a lot of family and friends here, so I was excited to be able to get that opportunity.”
- Despite the Bulls’ smaller front line, the Bucks got killed in the paint yet again, and handily so (62-44). Also, Chicago’s bench got the better of Milwaukee’s by a mile (59-35).
- Some more jarring stats from friend-of-the-site Camille Davis:
Up Next
The Bucks are back in action tonight in Philly against the star-studded 76ers. Watch at 6:30 p.m. CDT on MY24.
