This week in the NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bradley Beal earn player of the week honors
Matt Velazquez
TOP BUCKS PLAYER
Giannis Antetokounmpo is doing it all for the Bucks as they make a move up the standings. Over four games last week, he averaged 31.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. He's made a living at the free-throw line, making 48 of 60 attempts (80%) and outpacing any four-game stretch this season with 15 free-throw attempts per contest. Antetokounmpo now leads the NBA in free-throw attempts overall (225) and per game (9.8), edging Houston Rockets guard James Harden in both categories.
BUCKS LOOK AHEAD
After playing three games in four days, Milwaukee gets a three-day respite before heading to New Orleans to face the Pelicans on Wednesday. The Pelicans feature all-NBA big men Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, who are combining for 51.2 points, 23.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 2.7 steals and 3.2 blocks per game. The Bucks then return to the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Friday to face the league-worst Chicago Bulls before turning around for a game in Houston against the Rockets — owners of the best record in the West — on Saturday.
BUCKS QUOTE
Antetokounmpo, when asked if the rookies got him a cake for his birthday on Wednesday: "I don't know, I've got to go out there and see. I hope they gave me a cake because if they don't they've got to get me some doughnuts tomorrow. They've got to get me something."
TOP NBA PLAYER
With John Wall out, Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal has had to pick up the slack. After the Wizards' embarrassing 47-point loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday, Beal turned things around in a major way. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard dropped 51 points in a 106-92 win in Portland the next night, going 21 of 37 (56.8%) from the field, including 5 of 12 (41.7%) on three-pointers. On Thursday, Beal led the Wizards to a 109-99 victory over the Phoenix Suns with 34 points despite making just 1 of 5 three-pointers.
TOP NBA TEAM
The Houston Rockets are flat-out dominating just about every team that comes across their path, especially during their eight-game win streak. Through 23 games, the Rockets own the best scoring differential in the league, outscoring opponents by 11.3 points per game. Considering they had one of the best offenses last season and still employ Harden, one of the top offensive forces in the league, it comes as no surprise. Their defense, though, has jumped from the bottom half of the league last season to No. 5 entering Saturday. Harden is the clear MVP frontrunner with Eric Gordon as his wingman, Clint Capela rim-running and anchoring the interior at both ends and Ryan Anderson making 42.3% of his three-point attempts — not to mention eight-time all-NBA point guard Chris Paul, who has played just nine games due to injury — and the Rockets are a force to be reckoned with.
NBA QUOTE
Boston Celtics 21-year-old forward Jaylen Brown, on 40-year-old San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who downed the Celtics with a clutch three-pointer on Friday night: "When we were at breakfast, we were saying he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer and he displayed that tonight. When his team needed two big shots, one (at the end of the first half) and one in the fourth, he knocked them down with confidence like he's done it before. And he has. He's been playing (professional) basketball probably as long as I've been alive."
NBA RANKINGS
Top 10: 1. Houston Rockets, 2. Golden State Warriors, 3. Boston Celtics, 4. Cleveland Cavaliers, 5. Toronto Raptors, 6. San Antonio Spurs, 7. Indiana Pacers, 8. Milwaukee Bucks, 9. Minnesota Timberwolves, 10. Utah Jazz.
Middle 10: 11. Washington Wizards, 12. Portland Trail Blazers, 13. Denver Nuggets, 14. Detroit Pistons, 15. Philadelphia 76ers, 16. New Orleans Pelicans, 17. Oklahoma City Thunder, 18. New York Knicks, 19. Brooklyn Nets, 20. Los Angeles Lakers.
Bottom 10: 21. Miami Heat, 22. Orlando Magic, 23. Charlotte Hornets, 24. Sacramento Kings, 25. Phoenix Suns, 26. Los Angeles Clippers, 27. Dallas Mavericks, 28. Atlanta Hawks, 29. Memphis Grizzlies, 30. Chicago Bulls.
ONE MAN'S OPINION
I'm not a Milwaukee native, so excuse me if I'm getting my Bucks history wrong.
But there's no universe in which Toni Kukoc's days in Milwaukee should be considered superior to Terry Cummings' time with the Bucks. To think so would be utterly insane.
Yet here we are.
Throughout this season, their 50th, the Bucks will be unveiling the top five players in team history at each position. On Friday night, they announced the franchise's top five power forwards as determined by a fan vote.
Marques Johnson, more of a small forward, was the first name announced. Then came Vin Baker, an unquestionable choice, followed by Kukoc, Ersan Ilyasova and Antetokounmpo.
While that list is certainly imperfect, it's Kukoc's selection and Cummings' omission that are the most mind-boggling.
Kukoc spent the final four years of his career in Milwaukee, dropping from decent production to virtually no impact in that time. Taken as a whole, he averaged 7.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 21.0 minutes per game in 254 contests in a Bucks uniform.
Cummings, on the other hand, was a two-time all-star in his six seasons with the Bucks, with both all-star appearances coming during his first stint with the team from 1984-'89. During that five-year stretch, he averaged 21.7 points and 8.3 rebounds while starting 391 of 399 games in which he played.
In addition to his high output in the regular season, Cummings starred in the playoffs, averaging 22.3 points and 8.5 rebounds over 44 games, including leading the Bucks in scoring in 8 of 10 playoff games over the first two rounds in 1986 to lead Milwaukee to the Eastern Conference finals.
The rest of the positions on the Bucks' 50th anniversary team will be announced over the course of the season. Fan voting is already complete, so there's no chance to change any selections via the voting process.
Hopefully, if there are any egregious mistakes at other positions like Kukoc over Cummings, the Bucks step in and ensure the right player(s) are recognized.