Milwaukee Bucks had a quick turnaround to ignore what happened on Saturday night against Miami. Bucks took on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday evening at Fiserv Forum. Cleveland is in a rebuild and will likely be drafting in the top five again next season. Milwaukee came in as a 15.5 point favorite. Bucks had a great fourth quarter that pushed out the lead and finished off Cleveland, 129-112, with great defense and a stellar performance from Khris Middleton.

Player of the Game: Khris Middleton – There are many Khris haters that are among us. Don’t show them this game. This is the type of game that Middleton needs to have once in a while against good teams. Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t have tonight. He was rough going 5/15 from the floor and looking sluggish all game long. Middleton dominated from the floor with 21 points, eight rebounds and went 9/14 from the field including three 3-pointers. Middleton had a big shot late to put Milwaukee ahead by 15 points. Cleveland never got closer.

Honorable Mention: Pat Connaughton and George Hill – It is hard to hand out this award to either player. Both Pat Connaughton and George Hill had themselves a game. Hill finished with 19 points. Connaughton had 17. Planet Pat’s first half was stellar with 14 points and three 3-pointers. Hill was the anti-Eric Bledsoe last night. He actually finished at the hoop compared to what Bledsoe did last night.

One Thing That I Like: Seven players in double figures – Listen, there were a few Bucks who did not have a good night yet the fact Milwaukee had seven guys score 10 or more points is encouraging. This means that if players do not have good nights, there are players to pick them up. Bucks nearly had an eighth guy in double figures as Kyle Korver scored nine points.

One Thing That I Didn’t Like: Bledsoe has to finish at the rim – Eric Bledsoe missed four open layups. That simply cannot happen if Bucks are going to be successful. Bledsoe can get away with that shit against a team like Cleveland. He cannot get away with it when he’s playing some of the top teams in the NBA.

Next up: Milwaukee has themselves a busy week with four games in six nights. Game number two is against the new-look Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. Celtics are 2-1 with Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum off to good starts. Giannis and Enes Kanter will renew their bubbling rivalry on Wednesday as well.

Charlie.