Bucks Weekly Report Card: February 4

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty ImagesA few Bucks made good on my hopes last week in the two games surrounding Sunday’s absolute stinker: Giannis Antetokounmpo took much better care of the ball, Donte DiVincenzo saw further success inside, and Jrue Holiday reasserted himself as an offensive focal point. These were key areas holding the team back in previous losses, but as Holiday’s prolific shot-creating waxed, Khris Middleton’s waned. George Hill couldn’t establish any consistency after hurting his neck. Defensive rebounding is still a significant issue lately without Brook Lopez, and Bobby Portis isn’t doing enough to address this by pulling in his own boards or boxing out for others. It’s one step forward, one step back. Sound familiar? It should, because Milwaukee is 8-8 in its last 16 games, but thankfully is just 1.5 back of the East’s top seed, as other teams are catching up in the loss column while the Bucks are idle.

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