Despite strong box score games from Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr., the Bucks continued their losing ways against the soaring Atlanta Hawks—who now own a league-best nine-game win streak. In what has become a hallmark of the Bucks’ season, turnovers were again the bane of the Milwaukee’s game, while Wisconsin native Jalen Johnson led the way for the Hawks with a 23-point, 10-rebound, 12-assist triple-double. 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
31 minutes, 22 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks, 8/11 FG, 4/7 3PT, 2/2 FT -13
Rylo shot well throughout and carried the offensive load for the Bucks, especially in the first half where he had 15 points. He even had an absolutely nasty crossover combination and jelly finish in the third that would make Tim Hardaway Sr. blush. But the Hawks’ backcourt got whatever they wanted, too. Rollins can be an elite defender and he can be elite offensively; his jump this year has been incredible. To make the next leap, he has to pair the offence with the defence.
Grade: B+
Kyle Kuzma
24 minutes, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5 turnovers, 5/8 FG, 0/3 3PT, 1/2 FT -12
Kuzma was aggressive towards the rim and efficient when he got there. But he led the team with five turnovers and struggled keeping any of the Hawks off the offensive glass.
Grade: D+
Kevin Porter Jr.
30 minutes, 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 7/13 FG, 0/2 3PT, 4/4 FT, -19
KPJ finished with a nice stat line and was the only Buck outside of Rollins (and Portis in the first half) to really get anything going offensively. His herky-jerky play is flat-out difficult for defenders. Yet, it also makes things difficult for himself and his teammates at times, leading to a number of miscues. A pass that hit Sims in the head stands out, but there were a number of others that were just off the money, and even when these don’t result in turnovers they can break offensive flow. Still, the effort never dissipated.
Grade: B-
Jericho Sims
26 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 turnovers, 2/2 FG, 3/4 FT, -7
Sims continues to be active, making himself available offensively. It’s obvious he’s much more comfortable in the short roll, getting and moving the ball. He even had a nice bounce pass assist to Kuzma in the second quarter. In saying this, he’s still prone to way too many unnecessary turnovers and he didn’t have his customary impact on the boards.
Grade: D+
Myles Turner
24 minutes, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assist, 3/7 FG, 1/4 3PT, 1/1 FT, -16
It was another now-normal game from Turner, who had a moment here and there but generally seemed—and played like—an afterthought. The Hawks got to the rim with ease and, when they did miss, often got the offensive rebound. This isn’t all on Turner, of course, but a lot of it is. System, player, whatever it is, Turner continues to have a first year to forget in Milwaukee.
Grade: D+
AJ Green
21 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 3/6 FG, 2/5 3PT, 1/1 FT, -5
Green made his opening shot and finished with the best plus/minus of everyone who played meaningful minutes for the Bucks. That says something. His nine points were the most he’s had in six games, too. Still, it’s hard not to notice how difficult a time Green has just getting the ball (in comparison to players with similar roles, like the Hawks’ Corey Kispert). Green’s lack of foot speed and size isn’t going away, but he continues to battle, and tonight was a better one than it’s been recently.
Grade: C
Bobby Portis
27 minutes, 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5/15 FG, 3/7 3PT, 1/2 FT, -16
BP looked confident and came out firing—when does he not?—scoring 10 points in the first half. He struggled finding the net in the second half, though, and finished shooting just 33% from the field. The lack of interior presence defensively, let alone rim protection, again stood out too.
Grade: C
Pete Nance
15 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1/2 FG, 1/2 3PT, -8
While he’s not the most gifted athlete, you could see Nance excel in a system and with teammates that play thinking basketball. This squad is not that and so Nance was largely invisible. He did no real harm, though.
Grade: C-
Taurean Prince
12 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, -9
Prince didn’t get a shot off in his 12 minutes of action. Like Nance, he’s ill-suited to this form of “basketball”.
Grade: C-
Gary Trent Jr.
14 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 2/7 FG, 1/5 3PT, -2
At this point of the season, we know who Trent is and he did what he does—scored some points on inefficient shooting. Why Rivers decided to give him precedence over Thomas is baffling.
Grade: D
Doc Rivers
I get it, I really do—you can call all the plays you want and preach about Xs and Os until the cows come home but if the players don’t execute then it won’t work. Eventually, though, when the team keeps making the same mistakes and keeps looking disorganised, it’s got to come back to the one leading them. You’ve also got to leverage what you do have and, at this point of the season, look towards the future. While Cam Thomas might not be a part of that, he certainly warrants more of a look than what he’s being given.
Grade: D
Limited Minutes: Cam Thomas.
Garbage Time: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Andre Jackson Jr., Gary Harris.
Inactive: Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- The Bucks allowed 34 points in the paint in the first half, but assistant coach and defensive coordinator Greg Buckner said that was part of the game-plan to stop the Hawks shooting threes. With the Hawks shooting just 31% from three in the first half, that arguably worked.
- Turnovers continued to plague the Bucks. They had 11 in the first half and another two on their first two possessions of the third quarter. Moments later, they had yet another—a five-second inbounds violation. Then one of the travelling variety. By the 8:17 mark of the third, they had six in that quarter alone. And after Kuzma threw one into the nosebleed section trying to find Green who was wide-open in the corner, I wondered if the Bucks would be better served not passing the ball at all and just taking turns shooting out of isolation.
- Footage showed Rollins receiving stitches in his hand at half-time. It was a quality close-up that I would deconstruct in my film studies classes for its symbolism and foreshadowing. Hats off to the camera crew who also captured him checking it at the final buzzer in a fitting bit of symbolic recall.
- Gary Trent Jr. checked in (relatively) early in the third—and that says all you need to know about how the Bucks were faring. Sorry, Gary. We’ll forever cherish your playoff explosion.
- Lisa Byington is great at what she does, but hearing her butcher Jock Landale’s name time after time was grinding—almost as grinding as seeing him collect offensive rebound after offensive rebound.
- In a bit of poetic symmetry, the Bucks turned the ball over nine times in the third quarter and were outscored by—you guessed it—nine points.
- In a bid to make next season’s dunk contest, Corey Kispert attempted two dunks. He made neither of them.
- Thanasis checked in with 4:06 left on the clock in the fourth. I miss the days he was the Bucks’ human victory cigar rather than their white flag. To his credit, he had a nice block.
- According to the commentary, Milwaukee finished with a season-high 22 turnovers, but the box score says only 20. I tend to believe the former.
Up Next
The Bucks get right back at it for the SEGABABA, taking on the Indiana Pacers in another afternoon time-slot. You can find all the action on FanDual Sports Wisconsin—tip off is at 2:30 p.m. CDT.
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