The Milwaukee Bucks put up a good fight but ultimately fell to the Orlando Magic 118-99. The game was ugly in the first half, with neither team making much from outside, but the Magic’s final 18 minutes were stellar. The Bucks have a chance to redeem themselves tomorrow night (or not, for the pro-tank crowd) when these teams play once again. 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
27 minutes, 13 points, 6 rebounds,
5/9 FG, 2/6 3P, -6
Myles had some truly great looks from three that didn’t drop. His stats are what they are because the Magic were basically switching everything on defence. Turner is not the type to take advantage of mismatches. His job was to set a strong screen and force the switch. From there, it was up to the guards to make a play—KPJ was the only guard who did so effectively.
Grade: B-
Ryan Rollins
32 minutes, 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 turnovers, 4 fouls, 6/16 FG, 2/6 3P, -11
Rollins started the game poorly and never really got better, which, I should note, has not been the norm for him this season; he usually finds his way into games. There were a bunch of no-pass possessions where he rushed a tough shot. He also overpossessed the ball, leading to turnovers. He was often too aggressive on defence, playing a key role in the Magic getting into the bonus. Yeah, this was one of Ryan’s worst games this season.
Grade: D
AJ Green
32 minutes, 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4/8 FG, 4/8 3P, -13
Loved AJ’s game. He did his job and was aggressive in seeking his shot (including a ridiculous side-step triple over Franz Wagner with the shot clock winding down).
Grade: B+
Kevin Porter Jr.
36 minutes, 28 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 10/19 FG, 1/5 3P, -21
With the Magic being the defensive team they are (or have been, I should say), the Bucks desperately needed KPJ’s shake-and-bake ability. He did make just a single three, but he knocked down a bevy of mid-rangers, which kept the Bucks in it. Porter’s passing game was great too; he aggressively pierced the defence and made two defenders commit to him, finding the open man more times than not.
Grade: A
Bobby Portis
16 minutes, 10 points, 0 assists, 0 rebounds, 4/6 FG, 2/2 3P, -12
My theory that the Magic are the worst matchup for Bobby in the entire league was proven once again last night. He really struggles to find scoring opportunities against their big, athletic defence. He can’t get to his back-down game because of their size, and he also can’t get to his shot because of their athleticism (and then he’s slow, so they can recover if he tries to pump and go). There was simply no impact from BP, evidenced by his limited playing time.
Grade: D
Kyle Kuzma
17 minutes, 3 points, 0 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 turnovers, 1/3 FG, -13
Copy and paste from above, but worse.
Grade: F
Gary Harris
14 minutes, 0 points, 0/2 FG, -7
At least Gary got to catch up with his old buddies.
Grade: C
Cam Thomas
13 minutes, 4 points, 1/5 FG, 0/1 3P, –1
I did not think Cam would even play, and thus I am taking nothing from this one. It looks like Doc is going to have two of Porter, Rollins, and Thomas on the court at all times.
Grade: C
Jericho Sims
27 minutes, 5 points, 6 rebounds, 2/4 FG, -9
I liked Jericho’s activity on both ends of the court. He set some great screens, forcing his man to commit to the ball-handler and opening up lob opportunities (take note, Giannis). On defence, I thought he was strong and stuck with guards on switches.
Grade: B
Pete Nance
9 minutes, 5 points, 2/2 FG, 1/1 3P, -3
Pete played sparingly, but didn’t do anything wrong from what I can recall.
Grade:
Doc Rivers
Well, Doc played a lot of the right cards with respect to who got playing time in this one; Kuzma and Portis were major negatives and thus played sparingly, while Jericho and KPJ were solid and thus played more. While I suspect that Gary Trent Jr. getting a DNP will become more common as Cam Thomas takes most of his minutes, this was an especially bad matchup for GT. Why? Because the Magic is a team that needs guys who can pierce the defence more than it needs stationary shooters. So good choice by Doc there. Other than that, I thought Rivers coached a fine game.
Grade: B
Garbage time: Ousmane Dieng, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Andre Jackson Jr.
DNP-CD: Gary Trent Jr.
Inactive: Alex Antetokounmpo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Doc said the Magic won in large part because they were the more physical team.
- KPJ said a major reason for the Bucks’ 19 turnovers was the aggressive doubling the Magic do. Interesting.
- Bobby said there has to be a greater focus on boxing out for this team. And not just one guy—it has to be two, three, four guys hitting the glass. There were some folks online pointing out that BP had 0 rebounds. I’m not positive that’s the dunk people think it is; you can still box out and help your team rebound without grabbing them yourself. Overall, I appreciate the message.
- There were some admittedly funny quips online about people being shocked that Cam Thomas did not shoot once during his first stint on the court.
- We got our first look at Ousmane Dieng in garbage time; I want to see him in real minutes at some point.
- Franz Wagner returned in this one after a long layoff.
- Paolo Banchero… I’m sorry, but that dude is mid (and his contract could be a real problem).
- Anthony Black is proof that sometimes development takes a minute.
Up Next
The Bucks will hang around in Orlando for another day and play the Magic again tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. CST. Catch the game on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
