The Milwaukee Bucks’ Winners And Losers After First Ten Games

The Milwaukee Bucks are 6–4 through their first ten games. Although they’re not starting the world on fire, it’s definitely something for them to be proud of.

Don’t forget their disastrous 2–8 start last year. If they had stumbled out of the gates like that again, the Antetokounmpo trade chatter (which never really goes away) would’ve gone nuclear and put this whole operation on tilt.

According to ESPN’s strength-of-schedule data, Milwaukee has played the 12th-most difficult schedule so far. They’ve already faced projected playoff contenders like Cleveland, New York, Golden State, and Houston — those four teams have combined to win 25 of their first 39 games.

They’ve also seen surprisingly competent Chicago (6–3) and those always-annoying Toronto Raptors (5–5). Aside from the Toronto loss, Milwaukee has had a chance to take every game into the final minutes.

The next ten games are a mixed bag.

Dallas (3–7), Charlotte twice (3–6), and Portland (5–4) represent winnable opportunities; the Lakers (7–3), Cavs, 76ers (6–4), Pistons (8–2), Knicks, and Heat (6–4) are the exact opposite.

Another 6-4 spurt would be desirable and put them on track for 49 wins about a quarter of the way into the season.

Here are some other winners and losers from the Bucks’ first ten games.

Winner: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Antetokounmpo has been on a tear to begin the season. He understands he needs to play a bigger role than ever before and is rising to the occasion.

After ten games, he leads the NBA in scoring at 33.8 points per game, is fifth in rebounds at 12.3, and 16th in assists with 6.2.

Somehow, someway, NBA.com has him second in the MVP race behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averages fewer points, rebounds, and assists than Giannis, but his Thunder are off to a 10-1 start.

Without a second All-Star or star-level scorer next to him, Milwaukee needs peak Giannis virtually every night. So far, he’s delivering exactly that.

Loser: The Whistle

The way the refs have officiated Antetokounmpo so far has been borderline disrespectful.

He leads the league in restricted-area attempts — 133 shots — which is 55 more than the next closest player. Typically, those kinds of attempts come with bodies flying, arms slapping, and constant contact. Especially with someone this strong, this physical, this forceful.

Giannis doesn’t embellish anything. He’s not a flopper. He just goes through guys.

And despite living at the rim more than anyone else, he ranks only third in total free throws.

That sounds fine in isolation — but the ratio is off. He’s generating more direct rim pressure than anyone in basketball and isn’t getting the return whistle volume. Doc Rivers has already begun the subtle public campaigning that all top-tier stars eventually get from their coaches. Hopefully, it’s the precursor to a correction.

Winner: Three-Point Accuracy

After finishing first in the league in three-point percentage last year, Milwaukee is even better so far — a tick north of 40 percent.

Five rotation players (if we round up) are over 40 percent — Antetokounmpo, AJ Green, Ryan Rollins, Taurean Prince, and Myles Turner — and two others are hovering at 37.5 percent or better.

The front office wanted to surround Giannis with pure shooting at every slot. Mission accomplished.

Now they need to crank up the volume. They want to be among the league’s leaders in attempts per game, but right now they’re only 13th. Rivers wants even more bombs.

Loser: Rebounding

Brook Lopez was never a big individual rebounder in Milwaukee — he only averaged 5+ boards once in seven seasons — but he was one of the best box-out bigs in basketball. He removed the opposing team’s top offensive rebounder every possession. He solved problems quietly, with geometry and leverage.

That’s gone now. And the ripple is real.

According to Cleaning the Glass, Milwaukee ranks 27th in offensive rebound percentage and 24th in defensive rebound percentage. Even with Antetokounmpo and Turner on the floor together, the Bucks still struggle to finish plays cleanly.

This matters because their transition threes — a core part of their offensive identity — depend on getting early control of the ball and flowing quickly into the open floor.

Milwaukee doesn’t need to become an elite rebounding team. But they will need to find a way to clean the glass (no pun intended) if they want to improve upon their 6-4 start this season.