22 turnovers played a major role in the Milwaukee Bucks’ loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, 125-104. Jaren Jackson Jr. dominated for the Grizz, highlighted by his defensive impact (five blocks). Memphis now
leads the season series 1-0. 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
Kevin Porter Jr.
33 minutes, 16 points, 5 assists, 8 rebounds, 7 turnovers, 4/15 FG, 1/7 3P, –
17KPJ was bad last night. Just trying to do too much with the ball. Didn’t have it going from a shooting standpoint. This is now the fifth game in a row in which Porter has had six or more TOs, which is wild.
Grade: D
Myles Turner
28 minutes, 8 points, 2/11 FG, 2/6 3P, -6
You know, for most of Myles’ “bad games” this season, I’ve felt myself assigning more blame to others, given his limited ability to self-create—but not this game. I felt Turner was soft on both ends in this one; he kept trying to foul-bait and seemed to find ways not to embrace contact on offence. On defence, he kept letting guys overpower him way too easily.
Grade: D+
Ryan Rollins
23 minutes, 15 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 5/12 FG, 2/4 3P, -3
Rollins was solid in this one as a lead initiator, certainly better than KPJ. I thought he ran the team well and created good looks for himself. It also felt like Ryan got a horrendous whistle.
Grade: B
AJ Green
34 minutes, 20 points, 7/13 FG, 6/11 3P, -23
From a process POV, there’s not much to say about AJ’s game that’s much different from his other games; shots just went in last night. His defence can still leave you wanting, but it was nice to see Green get some positive results on the shooting front.
Grade: A-
Kyle Kuzma
29 minutes, 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5/10 FG, 0/2 3P,-23
This was kind of a meh game for Kuz. He scored relatively efficiently, turning it over just twice, but wasn’t really able to make his teammates better. I thought his defence was fine as well.
Grade: C+
Gary Harris
16 minutes, 8 points, 3/3 FG, –2
As Zac said in the last extended recap, Harris just knows how to play—and that was no different in this game. He played good defence, converted plays when he had to convert, and even got to the cup off a tough DHO action (given that’s generally not his role).
Grade: B+
Bobby Portis
35 minutes, 15 points, 12 rebounds, 7/14 FG, 1/5 3P, -23
I thought Bobby’s defence faded as the game went along, but his offence—and specifically his ability to play on the block—was needed. Given the number of minutes he played, I don’t think his plus/minus is representative of his game, which was completely acceptable in my view.
Grade: B
Jericho Sims
18 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1/2 FG, –23
Sims was mostly fine. He’s got to stop setting illegal picks, though; it’s clearly becoming something other teams are scouting.
Grade: C+
Doc Rivers
I want to stress that, by and large, I do think this team has been making progress over the last few weeks, which has to be credited, in part, to Doc. The wheels kind of fell off last night, but I want to see what the team looks like in the coming games and if this one was an aberration. After all, the Grizzlies have quite literally dominated the Bucks for years now. I will say that Ryan Rollins, although he did have five fouls by the end, should still not be playing just 23 minutes.
Grade: C
Limited minutes: Amir Coffey
Garbage time: Cole Anthony, Pete Nance, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Andre Jackson Jr.
Inactive: Taurean Prince, Alex Antetokounmpo, Mark Sears, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gary Trent Jr.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Doc put the turnovers down to not moving the ball: “I thought when the ball stopped was when the turnovers went up. We started trying to make our [own] plays; our spacing got bad. Every possession we moved the ball, we got whatever shot we wanted.”
- On KPJ’s persistent individual turnover issues, Doc wants him “just to be solid.” Said he thinks one mistake is leading to the next, and that he must grow in that area.
- Ryan Rollins continues to get no love from the refs; every 50/50 call seems to go against him.
Up Next
The Bucks back up tonight against the Chicago Bulls; Giannis is expected to play! Catch the game on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin at 7:00 p.m. Central.
