Down Giannis, Kyle Kuzma, and Kevin Porter Jr., the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Orlando Magic 130-91 in yet another blowout. Without the aforementioned creators, the Bucks just didn’t have enough juice to go with the Magic, who have now taken the season series 2-1. 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
Myles Turner
23 minutes, 3 points, 0 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1/6 FG, 1/3 3P, -27
Another invisible Turner game. For what
it’s worth, big, athletic teams like the Magic would appear to play against Myles’ strengths, and that played out last night. He was only able to get three triples up and six shots overall. Posting up is usually not a go-to for him, but especially not against that team. There was also next to no resistance on defence as he played sparingly yet again.
Grade: D
Ryan Rollins
22 minutes, 15 points, 1 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 3 steals, 5 turnovers, 5/12 FG, 3/7 3P, -14
Ryan really felt the burden of being one of the only playmakers available last night, reflected in his five giveaways. The Magic were physical with him, succeeding in getting him off his game. I did feel like he got a raw deal on a few no-calls, though. Doc actually admitted postgame that too much was placed on Rollins’ shoulders:
“It was too much on [Ryan], honestly. Ous was the other ball-handler tonight. We just didn’t have a lot to start. We did run our stuff; didn’t run it well. They were up pressuring us… taking us out of stuff… It’s one thing to have injuries. It’s another when you have injuries to everybody who facilitates your offence. Puts you in a tough spot.”
Grade: D+
AJ Green
28 minutes, 4 points, 2 turnovers, 1/8 FG, 1/8 3P, -30
The rough AJ stretch continued last night. He was no match for their physicality and had a dreadful night shooting, a major trend of late.
Grade: D-
Ousmane Dieng
24 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 turnovers, 1/7 FG, 0/2 3P, -29
Dieng did have a nice stretch in the second quarter, racking up four of his five dimes in the period (including a nice lob to Sims), but his shot escaped him for the game. I’ve referenced other guys who struggle with physicality; well, Ousmane might be the worst offender. The Magic neutralised him pretty well because of his lack of strength, heavily restricting his freedom with the ball (specifically his ability to come tight off screens).
Grade: D+
Bobby Portis
28 minutes, 18 points, 10 rebounds, 7/11 FG, 4/5 3P, -7
BP was the one of the only shining lights last night. He was aggressive in seeking shots and, due to his recent form, was able to pump-and-go to the rack once or twice, finishing over Jett Howard for the hoop-and-harm on one occasion.
Grade: B+
Cam Thomas
20 minutes, 17 points, 6 assists, 7/12 FG, 2/4 3P, -3
A better night for CT, who finally got some shots to fall amid a rough stretch. That said, I was more impressed with his six assists than anyhting else. On two chances where he could reasonably have shot it in the second quarter, he made the right play, hitting BP and AJ for triples.
Grade: B+
Jericho Sims
25 minutes, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 5/5 FG, -30
I liked Jericho’s game. He scored eight of his 10 points in the first half, but all were dunks in which he made himself available and assertively flew to the rim with no messabout. Sims also continues to make a real difference by pursuing offensive boards. Finally, he stuck with the Magic’s guards and bigs on switches, forcing a good amount of tough shots from the likes of Bane and Banchero.
Grade: B+
Pete Nance
22 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 4 fouls, 3/5 FG, -17
A solid game from Nance, who did most of his damage in the final frame with hustle and smart play. That said, he made an intelligent play in the first quarter, cutting from the short corner after Bobby caught it on the short roll, receiving the ball for the dunk. Gets in the right spots.
Grade: B
Doc Rivers
I thought Doc did a decent job coaching with the players available. Tough to battle that team without a creator like KPJ, who was huge in helping them get a win the last time these teams played. Maybe he should have given some of AJ’s minutes to Cam—given AJ’s struggles and Cam’s ability to get hot and score off the bounce—but I get not doing that, given CT has been off himself.
Grade: C
DNP-CD: Gary Harris
Garbage Time: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Andre Jackson Jr.,
Inactive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Alex Antetokounmpo, Kyle Kuzma, Kevin Porter Jr., Taurean Prince, Cormac Ryan
Bonus Bucks Bits
- I suspect the coaches are deliberately putting Ousmane Dieng one pass away from the guy running pick-and-roll, so that if/when the defence blitzes the ballhandler, Dieng is the release valve and can use his size and passing instincts to hit the open man as the defence recovers. He took advantage of this more against the Jazz than the Magic, but look for it in the coming games.
- This was the second game in a row in which Gary Trent Jr. has been a part of the rotation.
- Thanasis got on the court with over nine minutes left in the fourth, which is to say garbage time started early.
- AJax made a nice lookaway pass to Nance in the final minutes.
- The Magic were also on the second game of a back-to-back, but they played at midday the day before and thus would’ve arrived in Milwaukee at a decent time.
- Orlando shot 14/33 from three (42.4%).
- Paolo Banchero, who’s had a poor season relative to expectations, went 12/16 and 3/6 from three. He is shooting 46.5% from the floor and 31.0% from deep this season.
- Former Buck Jevon Carter has been a part of the Magic’s rotation after getting picked up by Orlando at the deadline following his being waived by the Bulls.
Up Next
The Bucks are back at Fiserv tomorrow night against the Phoenix Suns. Catch the action at 7:00 p.m. CDT on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
