With Jabari dead/buried, and with him all hope of a Bucks’ playoff berth, there is no reason not to give Thon Maker 30 minutes a contest. Or at least attempt to give him 30 minutes a contest. He’d probably foul out way before he got to 30. Maker is still at that stage of his development where he doesn’t usually help his team on the court, but that doesn’t matter. How is he gonna get better if he doesn’t play?
Jason Kidd is thinking the same thing that I am (as well as all Bucks fans at this point, probably), as Maker played 21 minutes, his second-highest total of the season. He made the most of it, scoring 12 points and dishing a dime to Giannis for a dunk, his third assist of the year. Maker is one of the worst players in the league at setting up his teammates (Maurice Ndour is worst, only a single frickin’ assist the whole season holy balls), but he’s young, and he very apparently has no idea what’s going on about half the time he’s on the court. Can’t blame him. The NBA is a lot faster than Canadian high-school ball.