This week in the NBA: Antetokounmpo, Porzingis earn player of the week honors

TOP BUCKS PLAYER

Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his strong start to the season, averaging 26.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists over the Bucks' four games this week. He had his first offensive off night on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets, going 5 of 16 from the field for a season-low 14 points, but in this week's other three games scored at least 28 points each time out and continues to lead the NBA.  Khris Middleton had a career night against the Hornets, scoring 43 points and keeping the Bucks in the game, but has not been as consistent overall as Antetokounmpo on a night-to-night basis. Antetokounmpo remains first in the NBA with 31.0 points per game.

BUCKS LOOK AHEAD

The Bucks have hit their first rough patch of the season, dropping three games in four nights from Tuesday to Friday. The schedule doesn't do Milwaukee any favors as the Bucks conclude their four-game road trip with games against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday and the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. The Cavaliers scuffled to start the season but made a major splash with a 130-122 win in Washington over the Wizards on Friday behind 57 points from LeBron James. The Spurs are without star Kawhi Leonard, but have still started 5-4. Following the game against the Spurs, the Bucks will play their third back-to-back of the season, returning home to host the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

BUCKS QUOTE

Jason Terry on the Bucks' current struggles on defense: “It’s still early in the season. We just know that our game is based on our defense and right now we’re not there consistently. We’ll play two, three minutes of it and you can see it, but consistently it’s not there. You can’t win basketball games without consistent effort on the defensive end.”

TOP NBA PLAYER

The New York Knicks are Kristaps Porzingis' team now and the 22-year-old Latvian has embraced the chance to take the reins. He's scored over 30 points in six of the Knicks' eight games, including three times in four games this week. Over this week, which included wins over the Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns along with a loss to the Houston Rockets, the 7-foot-3 center averaged 31.5 points while shooting 50.5% from the field and 41.2% on three-pointers, adding 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 assists per game.

TOP NBA TEAM

The Boston Celtics are the hottest team in the NBA. They lost Gordon Hayward in the season's opening game — a loss to the Cavaliers — then fell to the Bucks the next night and haven't lost since, stringing together seven straight wins. Three of those victories came this week, with the Celtics beating both the Spurs and Sacramento Kings by double digits before going to Oklahoma City on Friday and erasing an 18-point halftime deficit on the way to a 101-94 victory. Kyrie Irving has hit his stride as Boston's go-to offensive threat and has received plenty of help from Al Horford, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. With Marcus Morris back from injury, one of the deeper teams in the league has gotten even stronger.

NBA QUOTE

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on being one win away from tying Phil Jackson for sixth-most wins all time (1,155), a record he ultimately tied on Friday: “It’s the most important thing in my life, my grandchildren can take a hike.”

NBA RANKINGS

(Through Friday's games)

Top 10: 1. Boston Celtics, 2. Houston Rockets, 3. Golden State Warriors, 4. Detroit Pistons, 5. Los Angeles Clippers, 6. Cleveland Cavaliers, 7. Toronto Raptors, 8. Oklahoma City Thunder, 9. Memphis Grizzlies, 10. San Antonio Spurs.

Middle 10: 11. Portland Trail Blazers, 12. Washington Wizards, 13. Utah Jazz, 14. Orlando Magic, 15. Charlotte Hornets, 16. Milwaukee Bucks, 17. Minnesota Timberwolves, 18. Philadelphia 76ers, 19. Indiana Pacers, 20. Denver Nuggets. 

Bottom 10: 21. Los Angeles Lakers, 22. New York Knicks, 23. New Orleans Pelicans, 24. Miami Heat, 25. Phoenix Suns, 26. Brooklyn Nets, 27. Chicago Bulls, 28. Sacramento Kings, 29. Atlanta Hawks, 30. Dallas Mavericks.

ONE MAN'S OPINION

This summer, the NBA allowed teams to solicit sponsors for patches that would be worn on the front left of game jerseys. Each team was allowed to seek out its own deal to  best align with its goals and offer the most money.

There was no shortage of opinions from uniform purists and fans. Many thought the patches had no business sullying the front of team uniforms, while others took issue with certain sponsors or colors on their favorite team's jerseys.

People call, email, tweet at me or otherwise engage me in conversation about the Bucks on a daily basis. They have plenty of opinions about the team and many of those are well thought out critiques of what's going on.

While there were plenty of opinions about the team's Harley-Davidson sponsor patch when the partnership was established this summer, I haven't heard a single person complain about them since the preseason started. No one is distracted by the orange and black addition to the jersey — a criticism that some had voiced.

In the end, the patch is harmlessly serving its purpose. Harley-Davidson is getting plenty of screen time, the Bucks are getting an additional revenue stream and it's not driving negative conversations about aesthetics. Seems like a win-win to me.