Bucks Stock Market: Squeaking one out against the Thunder

Milwaukee gets back to 0.500 after a surprisingly competitive game against Oklahoma City.

The Bucks Stock Market is a fictitious market run by the GSPN crew that tracks player stock “movement” following the conclusion of every game. Here’s the spreadsheet logging the game-by-game results.

What a game that was. After watching the first half, I was sure it was going to be a blowout win for the Bucks. However, Oklahoma City had other ideas. Coupling a hot shooting stretch for the Thunder with a plethora of errors and missed shots from Milwaukee, this game became close at the end. But thanks to big performances down the stretch, the Bucks did not let the night where Khris Middleton became the franchise’s all-time leader in made threes end in a loss.

Giannis Antetokounmpo📈

Giannis was originally going to be a push after tonight’s game, but his performance down the stretch was worthy of an up stock. He struggled to get it going offensively for the majority of the game, as the Thunder’s length and athleticism were giving him fits. But as the game got close, Giannis sat forward in his gamer chair and put the game away. He had incredible highlights down the stretch, including a chase down block on an alley-oop attempt and a dagger fading jumper off a half spin.

George Hill📈

Hill hasn’t been getting enough love recently. Even though he has been timid in his shot attempts, he had a good offensive showing on Friday. Pouring in 12 points on very efficient shooting, George seems be finding his rhythm with the Bucks again.

Bobby Portis📈

After a few performances that left us wanting more, Bobby played some of his best basketball against the Thunder. He shot a nice 3-6 from deep, pulled down 13 rebounds, and didn’t get picked on defensively, which is a massive win! With Brook STILL out, getting Portis more acclimated to playing as a five on defense is a priority, and tonight was good progress.

The Bucks won’t have much time to enjoy this win, as they will be back in action on Saturday against Orlando.