Bucks' Maker making an impact once again
Welcome to the 2018-19 edition of the Young Bucks Tracker. Each Thursday we'll either track the progress of the players who might be of help to the Bucks in the future from the Wisconsin Herd or a current member of the Milwaukee roster. We'll also give updates on the other young players from the previous week.
This is the 8th edition of the 2018-19 Young Bucks Tracker.
SPOTLIGHT ON …
Forward Thon Maker
Over his young career, Maker has often provided some spark and energy to the Bucks.
However, in the first couple months of this season Maker's playing time was inconsistent; he'd play 10 minutes one game and sit out three of the next four. Get 18 minutes, then four.
But as December comes to an end, Maker has garnered more minutes on the floor and is back to making an impact. He's averaging 12.6 minutes per game in the month and has played in all 12 of Milwaukee's games.
In last Friday's win at Boston, Maker had a season high 12 points in 15 minutes and he made 4 of 5 3-point attempts.
But Maker was particularly amped for Tuesday's Christmas game, saying "Mentally, I was just trying to calm myself down and say it’s just another game. But the excitement was there, from when we ran out the tunnel, it was there. It was awesome."
Against the Knicks in that Christmas Day victory in New York, he again played 15 minutes and had 12 points as well as a pair of blocked shots. Plus, those shoes he wore were ?.
Overall in three games last week, he averaged 8.3 points over just 12.8 minutes and shot 64.3 percent from the floor. In that span he led the Bucks in offensive rating (122.4), effective field-goal percentage (78.6) and true shooting percentage (73.2).
BUCKSHOTS
-- Giannis Antetokounmpo had two games with 30 points last week, giving him 13 on the season with at least that amount. Giannis proved he was human though, scoring just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting in Miami on Monday. It was his first game with single-digit points since he had nine at Golden State on March 18, 2017. Despite that effort, he's still shooting 61.9 percent from the floor and averaging 26.0 points over his last seven games, dating back to Dec. 12.
-- Eric Bledsoe made 51.7 percent of his shots in the three games to push his season field-goal percentage to 50.1 percent. His previous career high is 47.7 percent in 2013-14.
-- D.J. Wilson continues to log minutes, averaging 18.4 per game last week. He played roughly 55 minutes in Milwaukee's three games. As a reminder, he played just 71 minutes as a rookie.
-- The Wisconsin Herd played one game last week, against Stockton at the G League Showcase in Las Vegas, and Christian Wood once again put up big numbers: 34 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. Wood was named All-NBA G League Showcase 2018 first team.