Final 2014-15 Season Grades for Every Milwaukee Bucks Player
A season of tremendous success can largely be attributed to a team's personnel. For the Milwaukee Bucks, that couldn't have been more true in 2014-15. While coaching and management played the supporting role to perfection, it was the individual players who came together as a collective whole to accomplish a remarkable turnaround.
And almost everyone on the roster contributed to the 26-win improvement from 2013-14.
Khris Middleton continued to develop into a consistent offensive threat, while rookie Jabari Parker, for the 25 games he appeared in prior to being injured, showed his potential to be a core piece this franchise can build around.
Role players like O.J. Mayo may not have had great seasons statistically, but they brought much-needed veteran leadership to the floor. Meanwhile, Zaza Pachulia gave the team a certain toughness it otherwise would have been lacking.
Not coincidentally, then, the team clearly receives a positive grade. But how about each individual player?
In alphabetical order, here are the grades for each player on the Bucks' roster.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
1 of 15
As a rookie, offense was the area The Greek Freak clearly needed to work on the most.
During his second season in the league, he nearly doubled his output in terms of scoring, became more aggressive and improved his field-goal percentage. He ended up averaging 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 block, while shooting an excellent 49.1 percent from the floor.
While his jump shot is still somewhat erratic, it's arguably the only thing preventing him from becoming an All-Star-caliber player. Shooting better than 15.9 percent from three-point territory is a no-brainer and he'll need to convert better than 28.2 percent of his shots from three to 10 feet.
Still, it's clearly just a matter of time before Antetokounmpo has his true coming out party.
Final 2014-15 Grade: B+
Jerryd Bayless
2 of 15
Bayless joined the Bucks, his sixth team since being drafted in 2008, and the expectations weren't set significantly high. While his performance on the floor was rarely great, he did have his role on a successful team.
Averaging 7.8 points, 3.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 42.6 percent, his numbers certainly didn't jump off the page, nor did they quite reach the stat line he posted in 41 games with the Boston Celtics last year.
Still, the veteran always came off the bench with a bundle of energy and his leadership skills were welcome on a team lacking experience. For that reason alone, the Bucks benefited from having Bayless on the roster.
Final Grade: C+
Michael Carter-Williams
3 of 15
Trading Brandon Knight for Carter-Williams, while a bit of a head-scratcher, made sense in terms of the team's long-term outlook. He was the reigning 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year, possessed a unique combination of physical and tangible skills and wasn't set to demand a big payday.
And after getting off to a slow start, Carter-Williams ended up finishing the regular season strong. Over the team's last five games, he averaged 19.6 points, 6.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals while shooting a scorching 58.0 percent.
The 23-year-old still has ample room for improvement, especially when it comes to his suspect jump shot, but his potential is impossible to deny.
With head coach Jason Kidd—one of the greatest point guards ever—serving as his tutor, reaching that potential would certainly seem to be more of a possibility than when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Final 2014-15 Grade: B
Jared Dudley
4 of 15
Dudley has built a respectable reputation for being a spot-up, three-point specialist over the duration of his career and that's what the Bucks were hoping they got when acquiring him from the Los Angeles Clippers last summer.
The veteran connected on 38.5 percent of his three-point attempts, but he proved to be streaky throughout the season. Prior to the All-Star break, Dudley knocked down an excellent 44.2 percent of his threes and was a reliable gunner. However, he appeared in just 19 games after the break and managed to connect on a horrendous 20.0 percent of those attempts.
Whether it was a nagging back injury that was to blame or just a decrease in production overall, Dudley was streaky in 2014-15, making assigning him a grade difficult.
When hitting shots, he was a crucial part of the team's offense. However, when he wasn't knocking them down, he provided little on the court outside of leadership.
Final 2014-15 Grade: C
Tyler Ennis
5 of 15
The rookie out of Syracuse came to the Bucks as part of the deal that sent Knight to the Phoenix Suns prior to the trade deadline and didn't seem to be much more than a throw-in piece.
Having appeared in just eight games for the Suns, Ennis saw the floor 25 times after being traded and averaged 14.1 minutes. While his numbers weren't anything worth mentioning, it became obvious that Kidd was, at the very least, curious to find out what he had in the 6'2" guard.
Depending on what the Bucks do during the offseason, Ennis could very well be poised to take on more responsibility at the backup point guard position next year.
But, for 2014-15, he didn't grade out overly well.
Final 2014-15 Grade: D+
Jorge Gutierrez
6 of 15
Gutierrez saw action 10 times this season and many of the minutes accumulated in that span came during blowouts, in favor of the Bucks or against them.
After coaching him while with the Brooklyn Nets, it's clear that Kidd has taken somewhat of a liking to the 26-year-old out of California, but don't expect Gutierrez to challenge for much more than a backup or bench-warming role if he's on the roster to start 2015-16.
Dishing out a grade to someone who saw so little run with the Bucks is tricky but, ultimately, he didn't do much with his time and needs to be graded accordingly.
Final 2014-15: D
John Henson
7 of 15
If you were in the camp of people who believed Henson would have a breakout season, you weren't alone.
The lengthy big man made strides during 2013-14, when he averaged 11.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks while converting 53.8 percent of his field-goal attempts. However, this season, as Kidd took over the reins, Henson seemed to fall out of favor.
In just 18.3 minutes of playing time per game, he was still able to average 7.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 56.6 percent from the field. Given the inconsistent minutes he saw, he still managed to play well and saw an increase in minutes and production during the playoffs.
In their first-round series against the Chicago Bulls, he averaged 8.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks during 25.5 minutes a night, proving he can be a valuable asset considering the Bucks don't have many other options down low.
Final 2014-15 Grade: B-
Ersan Ilyasova
8 of 15
Once again, in 2014-15, Ilyasova proved he has a hard time staying healthy and logging consistent minutes.
The stretch 4 appeared in just 58 games and, until the last few months of the season, wasn't very productive. On the season, he averaged 11.5 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three-point range.
While he has yet to revert back to 2012-13 form, Ilyasova is still an asset when he's healthy enough to log serious minutes. Therefore, grading him for 2014-15 becomes a bit of a tricky task. His production wasn't great, but it was far from bad. Still, staying on the floor is of utmost importance, especially when making $7.9 million a year.
Ultimately, somewhere slightly better than average is fair.
Final 2014-15 Grade: C+
Damien Inglis
9 of 15
The 20-year-old Inglis didn't play a single game in 2014-15, meaning his report card gets marked as incomplete.
At 6'8", 240 pounds, Inglis possesses a 7'3" wingspan and reportedly is an excellent defender, per DraftExpress. The latter quality should gain him plenty of favor with Kidd, who is seemingly set on defense becoming the Bucks' modus operandi.
If healthy, he can provide the team with more youthful energy and perimeter defense. Until then, however, the jury is out on the young Frenchman.
Final 2014-15 Grade: N/A
O.J. Mayo
10 of 15
Mayo has spent two seasons as a member of the Bucks and neither has lived up to the expectations some had when he signed as a free agent after having a solid 2012-13 year for the Dallas Mavericks.
In lackluster fashion, the veteran averaged 11.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists while hitting 42.2 percent of his shot attempts and 35.7 percent of his threes. And while Mayo did assert himself as a leader, it's still hard to see such little production from someone who once had a very promising career.
Perhaps those numbers would be excusable if he weren't making $8 million per year, but he is. And even though that's certainly not his doing, the unimpressive production is. That only becomes more disheartening considering he still sometimes gives glimpses into the immense talent he has.
Final 2014-15 Grade: C
Khris Middleton
11 of 15
While Middleton didn't post gaudy stats in 2014-15, he was arguably the most consistent player for the Bucks when it came to offensive production. He averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 46.7 percent from the field. Additionally, he hit on 40.7 percent of the threes he took, making him more than adequate from behind the arc.
Continued improvement is always a positive and this season was the second in a row the 23-year-old built on the previous campaign. He improved so much, in fact, that Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times was told Middleton will likely see a multi-year offer worth $7 to $8 million annually.
If he returns to the Bucks and can once again continue to improve, the team will be getting a bargain for a player who has given them their most reliable, efficient offense.
Final 2014-15 Grade: A-
Johnny O'Bryant
12 of 15
O'Bryant appeared in 34 games as a rookie and even saw himself positioned in the starting lineup 15 times. However, it didn't take long to recognize some obvious flaws in his game.
At 6'9", 256 pounds, he has a pretty solid frame but often seems reluctant to use it. The rookie shot just 36.7 percent for the season and took 53 of his 120 shot attempts from 16 feet to three-point range. For someone with his bulk and ability to bang around down low, that's unacceptable.
Additionally, watching O'Bryant was frustrating at times. He seemed lazy and reluctant to play defense, which is never a good combination.
All in all, it wasn't a highly successful season for the former LSU Tiger.
Final 2014-15 Grade: D
Zaza Pachulia
13 of 15
Pachulia may not have performed up to his contract which saw him earn more than $5 million in 2014-15, but the veteran big man gave the Bucks a much-needed presence down low and a tough bruiser who won't back down from a scuffle.
Averaging 8.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 45.4 percent from the field, the veteran showed he could provide value in many different areas.
And while he clearly isn't the prototypical center, he did an admirable job filling that role and certainly made the most of the minutes he was given. That, along with his quality leadership, were enough to earn Pachulia a respectable grade.
Final 2014-15 Grade: B-
Jabari Parker
14 of 15
Prior to tearing his ACL, Parker averaged 12.3 points, 49 percent from the field and was clearly one of the go-to options when it came scoring.
The rookie can score in the post, with a somewhat inconsistent mid-range jump and in transition, but the areas in which he needs the most improvement are his consistency shooting the three-ball and his ability to defend. Moving forward, these might be the things that end up defining just how successful the 20-year-old can be.
Even though we saw him in limited action, people being discouraged by the season he had on the court is a ridiculous notion. The sooner he can get healthy, the sooner he can hit the floor and begin working toward everything he missed out on during his rookie season.
Final 2014-15 Grade: B
Miles Plumlee
15 of 15
Plumlee appeared in 19 games for the Bucks after being traded to the team and, for some reason, he never quite got the same amount of playing time as he saw with the Phoenix Suns. Perhaps some of it was style of play or, maybe, Kidd just didn't come around to liking him.
Either way, the 3.2 points and 2.4 rebounds he provided the team with in 2014-15 fell flat and the team hasn't been able to reap the benefits of having an athletic big man who can both run the court and fight for loose balls.
He's not much more than a solid energy guy who can spark a run off the bench and lend his gritty, hard-nosed style of play to a new rotation, but Plumlee should have produced better in 2014-15. Oh well, there's always next season.
Final 2014-15 Grade: D+
