Something had to be done following the embarrassing losses the Milwaukee Bucks have piled up recently and Doc Rivers opted for wholesale changes, starting Kyle Kuzma in favour of Kevin Porter Jr. and handing Gary Trent Jr. a DNP-CD in favour of Pete Nance. The moves proved positive for the most part, the Bucks leading by as much 20 and holding on to win in the waning moments agains the Atlanta Hawks. 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
Giannis Antetokounmpo
30 minutes, 21 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 7/12 FG, 0/1 3PT, 7/12 FT, -8
Giannis cleaned up the Hawks’ errant shooting, collecting 17 rebounds, and did plenty of his usual stellar stuff too—finishes at the rim, playmaking, and defensive stops. He also made some baffling decisions—like dribbling into a turnaround-fadeaway with 16 seconds on the shot clock that gave the ball right back to the Hawks when they were up just one with less than two minutes to go in the fourth. He also inexplicably pushed McCollum outside of the three-point line, sending him to the line where he’d make both to give the Hawks the lead. Overall, Giannis looked good and mostly was, but there’s a reason he finished with a plus/minus of -8.
Grade: B–
Ryan Rollins
29 minutes, 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 6/12 FG, 1/4 3PT, 1/2 FT, -5
After struggling with his shot recently, Rollins was much more efficient tonight and had a solid game overall. He had arguably the most pivotal play of the night too—stealing it from Jalen Johnson late in the fourth that led to a Giannis layup that gave the Bucks a four-point lead. He couldn’t stay out of foul trouble, though, (5 PF) struggling with the crafty CJ McCollum.
Grade: C+
Myles Turner
28 minutes, 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 5/10 FG, 4/6 3PT, -7
Turner had a nice box score night, putting up a near double-double and splashing the three ball. His three threes to start the third quarter were particularly helpful, combatting the Hawks who finally found their groove from beyond the arc. Once again, however, Turner failed to make any impression inside, making just 1/4 shots in the paint and failing to record a block for the fourth game in a row. He really seems to be struggling to get any elevation lately and this is playing too much like a shooting guard than a centre for my liking.
Grade: C+
AJ Green
42 minutes, 18 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 6/12 FG, 6/12 3PT, +14
Green was just phenomenal, leading the team in plus/minus and converting on six triples. But I’m even more excited by the volume—his 12 attempts tied his most for the season and were a reminder of what we thought his shot profile might look like heading into the season. He also looked solid on defence, holding his throughout. Hey, maybe playing him at his natural shooting guard is a smart idea after all.
Grade: A
Kyle Kuzma
31 minutes, 10 points, 1 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 blocks, 3/9 FG, 1/4 3PT, 3/4 FT, -16
The box score is not a kind one for Kuzma tonight and, honestly, it does him a disservice. While it would’ve been nice to see him hit the boards a little more, Kuzma was quite solid overall, playing point-forward at times and playing with assertiveness. For some reason, he even controlled the ball down the stretch, running the pick and roll with Giannis, scoring seven points, and blocking a shot in the final 4:25 minutes. While he’s not the ideal starting small forward, you can see the vision—hopefully it’s Michael Porter Jr. in this spot in the near future.
Grade: C
Kevin Porter Jr.
28 minutes, 9 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2/5 FG, +3
Moving back to the bench, Porter was still a little loose with the rock at times (three turnovers) but gave the Bucks a little bit of everything and was generally positive overall. He again led the team in assists, dishing four of them in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line to go along with a tough and-one. If he can take the hit to his ego—which it looks like he can—Porter could find himself a very important role as the leader of the Bucks’ bench. Tonight was a sound start.
Grade: C+
Bobby Portis
24 minutes, 19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists, 8/15 FG, 3/7 3PT, +6
Portis continued his strong season offensively, where he’s leading the league in three-point percentage (48% coming into tonight’s game), and his three-pointer with the Bucks down two and just 54.8 seconds on the game clock is a testament to his unwavering confidence from range. On another note, while he battled on the boards, tipping a lot them, it would be great to see him come down with more of these. You know what you’re getting with BP and there’s value in that, despite his defensive limitations.
Grade: B-
Gary Harris
15 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 0/1 FG, 0/1 3PT, +10
Following the loss to the Spurs, I wrote that if Harris is “playing this much for the Bucks, then maybe it’s time to start expecting more—or give those minutes to someone who might be able to win you a game rather than just stabilise it.” Tonight, he played stabiliser again, but with the Bucks finding quality minutes from Pete Nance at the expense of Gary Trent Jr., that role was perfect.
Grade: B
Pete Nance
15 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2/3 FG, 1/1 3PT, +13
Nance was the surprise beneficiary of Rivers’ rotational adjustments tonight, playing his most minutes of the season. He was fantastic in these too, contributing all over the court and playing the game how it’s supposed to be played—with a combination of energy and smarts. His steal to layup in the fourth was huge to slow the Hawks’ momentum and his three-pointer to put the Bucks back up by 14 should’ve been the sealer. Nance has definitely earned another look and, if he can keep this up, could easily step into the front-court void any substantial Bucks trade would create.
Doc Rivers
Rivers’ decision to make changes was overdue and he did the obvious, swapping out Porter for Kuzma that enabled Green to move to his natural position, while also giving the Bucks an injection off the bench—Porter and Portis did play well off each other. Rivers gets more credit for his decision to play Nance over Trent, which was largely unexpected and ended up a real positive for the Bucks—Trent hasn’t had a positive plus-minus in his last eight games (and is -255 on the season), while Nance was, arguably, a game changer in this one. He still needs to go, but tonight Doc made the right calls.
Grade: B
DNP-CD: Gary Trent Jr., Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Cole Anthony, Amir Coffey, Andre Jackson Jr., Jericho Sims, Pete Nance.
Inactive: Taurean Prince, Alex Antetokounmpo.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Pete Nance received first quarter minutes, checking in with 2:42 left to go. He looked active and had a nice interior assist to Portis.
- By the end of the first quarter, the Hawks had taken 29 shots compared to just 19 fort the Bucks, thanks largely to their work on the offensive glass—they had plenty of opportunities, though, missing all of their 13 three-point attempts.
- After missing their 16th three in a row, Green hit a three on the other end to give the Bucks a 12-point lead. On their next possession, he hit 1/2 to make it 15.
- A 29-6 run, gave the Bucks a 45-25 lead midway through the second. The Hawks immediately followed that by an 8-0 run of their own.
- With just 26 seconds left in the first half, CJ McCollum buried the Hawks’ first three of the game. You could see it coming too, with Giannis unwisely helping Green who’d already forced Jalen Johnson to pick it up at the free throw line.
- The Hawks’ 38 first-half points were their lowest since December of 2021.
- The Bucks received at least two baffling offensive foul calls—one on a KPJ drive in the first half and another on a Giannis one-legged fade in the third quarter.
- It was a three-point parade to start the third quarter, with the Bucks going 5/6 and the Hawks finding their rhythm going 4/5.
- Turnovers again proved costly for the Bucks. Their 11th turnover (to just six for the Hawks) helped the Hawks cut it to 11 points with 2:24 left in the third. Another turnover by KPJ enabled the Hawks to cut it to single digits a minute later—part of a 18-4 Hawks run. Then another turnover—this one off an inbounds pass with just 12.5 seconds left—led to three free throws to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and at the three-quarter siren it was an 8-point game.
- Alexander-Walker went on a tear in the fourth, his 14th point of the quarter (29th of the game) making it a one-point margin, 101-100. Another three with just 12.6 seconds left again reduced the lead to just one.
Up Next
The Bucks have a day off before commencing a three-game homestead against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. You can find all the action on ESPN and FanDuel Sports Winsconsin—tip off is at 8:30 p.m. Central.
