In the early stages of Monday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, the Milwaukee Bucks looked like a team who played three games in their last four days. WTMJ’s Dennis Krause mentioned how ‘Last year, this team would seemingly letdown after big wins’, and this would qualify as a letdown spot after Saturday night’s emotional win. Bucks were able to outscore the Hornets in the next three quarters including a big third that propelled them to their second straight victory, 103-94. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

Things I like
Giannis. Giannis. Giannis. – What a surprise, we had another big game from Giannis Antetokounmpo. I think we could all expect it in the first part of the game as Giannis showed no signs of being tired when he abused Marvin Williams early and often. Once again, it was an efficient night for The Alphabet going 13-of-21 from the field and not taking a single three point attempt. So far this season, Antetokounmpo has not missed more than 10 shots in a game. He’s off to a bananas start.

Mirza provides valuable minutes – Keep an eye on this going forward because I honestly think a difference maker for this team could be Mirza Teletovic. Call me crazy if you’d like, but he had his worst year of his career last season which means positive regression is here. We started to see some of that tonight with 15 points on five threes. He made two huge ones in the waning minutes of the third quarter to push Milwaukee’s lead out.

Khris Middleton bounces back from first half in a major way
There’s a good chance that Real GM would have lost their shit if Khris Middleton played a whole game like he did the first half. Now, he is bothered by an illness, yet, the Bucks wing started 3-of-12 from the field. He finished the second half going 5-of-7 and making two huge plays to seal the game. Middleton pinned Marvin Williams’ game-tying bucket then made a three that put Milwaukee ahead by five with under a minute left. That three was huge for the game, but also for the confidence of Middleton who is off to a horrendous start from three.

Thing I didn’t like
Zero answer for Dwight Howard – If the new Hornets center could make a free throw, he would have enjoyed a double-double, but he cannot which hurt Charlotte in a major way. That said, Milwaukee could not stop him from rebounding everything. Howard finished with 22 boards with a glaring seven offensive rebounds. This is a slight issue for Milwaukee. The teams with bigger centers are having their way rebounding the basketball. Milwaukee need more physicality from Thon Maker.

Next up
Milwaukee heads to the MECCA for an old-school affair with the Boston Celtics who they met a little over a week prior to this showdown. Kyrie Irving will look to have a better game in this one, but Milwaukee has been stingy against point guards this year. With the hype around this game, it would not surprise me to see a large game from Giannis.

Charlie.