Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bulls: Postgame Grades and Analysis
The Chicago Bulls extended their series lead to 2-0 Monday night when they beat the Milwaukee Bucks 91-82 in Chicago.
The contest was quite different from the teams' 2015 playoff debuts, with both struggling to find consistent scoring.
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Though the Bucks pulled ahead with an early lead, Chicago fought back before the half to take a one-point lead.
From there, the teams traded leads before the Bulls pulled away behind Jimmy Butler's 14 fourth-quarter points.
| Derrick Rose | B- |
| Jimmy Butler | A |
| Pau Gasol | B- |
| Joakim Noah | B+ |
| Rest of Team | C |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | D |
| Khris Middleton | B+ |
| Michael Carter-Williams | C+ |
| John Henson | C |
| Rest of Team | C |
Chicago Bulls
Derrick Rose: B-
After his hot postseason opener, Derrick Rose struggled to put the ball in the basket for much of Game 2.
Rose went scoreless in the first half despite seven attempts. A handful came from long range, with Rose seemingly hesitant to drive to the rim.
He began to find the bottom of the net after halftime, eventually finishing with 15 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
In addition to his scoring, Rose logged seven rebounds and nine assists. His facilitating proved to be a crucial part of a Chicago offense that was at its best when the ball was moving around the court.
Jimmy Butler: A
Jimmy Butler shot just 10-of-19 in Game 2 but went 7-of-10 inside the arc. Finishing with a new career playoff-high 31 points, Butler was extremely active, taking advantage of opportunities to get to the rim and the free-throw line, where he went 8-of-14.
Though he struggled mightily from deep for much of the game, he caught fire down the stretch and exploded in the final quarter for 14 points to lead Chicago to the win. Virtually unguardable in the fourth from anywhere on the court, Butler undoubtedly deserves the game ball.
He was also characteristically solid on defense, but he certainly stole the show with his scoring onslaught in the closing minutes.
Pau Gasol: B-
It wasn't one of Pau Gasol's best games, but the big man certainly made a positive contribution Monday night.
He scored 11 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, though he was ineffective as a scorer from outside the paint.
He wasn't the lockdown defender that interior partner Joakim Noah was, but Gasol delivered a block in the closing minute that seemingly sealed the Bulls' victory.
Joakim Noah: B+
Like Gasol, Joakim Noah made his biggest impact on the boards.
Noah grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds, leading the way for a 64-48 rebounding discrepancy in the Bulls' favor.
Despite only scoring six points, Noah played an integral part in the passing game, dishing out five assists and moving the ball well along the interior.
He was excellent defensively, as Milwaukee struggled to score in the paint from start to finish.
Rest of Team: C
Mike Dunleavy hit a trio of big shots in the first half as the Bulls closed in on the Bucks' early lead, but he quieted down the stretch, hitting just one more shot to finish with 12 points.
Nikola Mirotic led the way off the bench with eight points, but he was relatively quiet outside of a stretch to end the first half in which he scored Chicago's final seven points. He left the game in the fourth with an injury.
Tony Snell and Aaron Brooks each hit a big shot but were otherwise relatively absent in a win brought about by the success of Chicago's starting five.
Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo: D
After going 4-of-13 in his playoff debut, the Greek Freak struggled again in Game 2. He looked to be in attack mode early, but he struggled mightily to finish. Ultimately shooting 2-of-11 from the floor, he scored just six points.
He grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
Fans were treated to a mixed bag regarding Antetokounmpo's defensive contributions. He wasn't without his big plays, namely a big block on Gasol and a pair of steals.
However, the sophomore's overall defensive performance was full of gambles and mistakes that revealed his youth and inexperience.
By the end of the contest, he looked shy on both ends of the court, afraid to assert himself defensively and shoot on the other end.
Khris Middleton: B+
Khris Middleton paced Milwaukee as the Bucks' top scorer from start to finish. He notched 22 points on 8-of-20 shooting and seemed to be the only player unaffected by the early inefficiency bug that had both teams struggling to score.
He tapered off as the game progressed, though, as it became evident that any Milwaukee success on the offensive end would start and finish in his hands.
He matched up with Butler and played him well through the first half, forcing tough shots inside. However, Butler's late-game surge saw Middleton's defensive effectiveness diminish, as the Bulls' shooting guard ultimately proved to be the driving force behind Chicago's victory.
Michael Carter-Williams: C+
Michael Carter-Williams didn't do anything flashy offensively, but he still notched a respectable 12 points, going 5-of-12 from the floor.
Even so, as the Bucks' primary playmaker, Carter-Williams' passiveness hurt the entire offense, as they struggled to move the ball and find open shots.
He looked good defensively, keeping Rose from attacking the rim, though the Bulls floor general still won the point guard duel as he found his groove down the stretch.
Much like Antetokounmpo, Carter-Williams is going to have to assert himself going forward if the Bucks are going to have any chance against a balanced Chicago squad.
John Henson: C
If nothing else, John Henson added an emotional spark to a game that desperately needed an energy boost.
After he knocked Aaron Brooks over in the first half, intensity spiked and four technical fouls were handed out.
As a player, he added rim protection in the form of two blocks but failed to emerge as a force on the glass.
He scored just eight and was blocked on what seemed to be Milwaukee's final opportunity to cut Chicago's lead in the closing minutes. Still, he brought intensity to a team that noticeably lacked it elsewhere.
Rest of Team: C
Ersan Ilyasova struggled with his shot, going 3-of-10 and missing every shot from outside the paint. Zaza Pachulia made an equally minimal offensive impact, notching seven points on 3-of-8 shooting before being ejected after a second skirmish.
Other than Henson, O.J. Mayo was the only Buck to receive 20-plus minutes off the bench. Outside of two consecutive possessions in which he helped slash a Chicago lead, Mayo was otherwise quiet.
Jerryd Bayless played just 15 minutes but managed eight points on 50 percent shooting.
Up Next
The series travels to Milwaukee, with the Bucks getting their first shot to defend their home court on Thursday. Game 3 is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. ET.
Chicago will look to use the momentum from the opening two games to steal a third on the Bucks' floor.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, will need to find more offensive firepower and a strong game plan to avoid facing a potential sweep.
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