Don’t believe any of the talk hyping point guard Brandon Jennings as a Rookie of the Year candidate as it is a two horse race between Stephen Curry of the Warriors and Tyreke Evans of the Kings. Jennings is only shooting 37% from the floor and that is just terrible. Jennings has played in 55 games (all starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 33.5 minutes, 16.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The Bucks would be a better basketball team if they could just convince Brandon Jennings to pass more and shoot less.

Milwaukee Bucks’ rookie Brandon Jennings has been playing very well for a rookie this season, but his shot has been struggling for quite some time now.  Jennings still has a game every now and then where he will light it up, but his shot has been far from consistent and opposing teams are starting to take note.  On the season he is averaging 17.7 points, 6.2 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 steals on 38% shooting.  He is shooting 39% from three on the season, but he only hit 32% in December and 35% in January.  That is not too bad for three point shooting, but it is his overall FG percentage that is cause for concern, as it keeps getting worse.  He shot 42% in November, 38% in December, and 32% in January.  It looks like the 6’1″, 170 lbs. rookie has been hitting a wall.  Jennings is still a good playmaker for the Bucks, and is one of the top rookies in the league, but he really needs to start shooting at a better percentage.

Starting point guard Brandon Jennings has been really good this season for the Bucks. He has played in 32 games (all starts) for the Bucks so far this season and he is averaging 34.6 minutes, 19.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. It’s weird to see but he is shooting better from three point range (40.3%) than the floor (40.2%). He does need to improve his shot selection the rest of the way if he has plans on winning the Rookie of the Year Award because Tyreke Evans is putting up great numbers in Sacramento. SG Jodie Meeks is only shooting 36.1% from the floor this year and that’s why he’s not getting too much playing time. He has played in 26 games (0 starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 13.1 minutes, 4.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.

Brandon Jennings has been exciting to watch all season and has been playing great, especially for a rookie.  Whether it is Jennings stroking a three or setting up a nice dunk with a great dime, Jennings has been arguably the best rookie in the NBA this season.   Many did not see this coming, as Jennings was surpassed in the draft by six other guards before being taken at the 10th spot.  Jennings shot has been streaky as of late though, so is he still atop the rookie rankings?  See if he held off the Sacramento Kings’ Tyreke Evans in my list of Top Rookies in the NBA so far.

A lot of hype has surrounded Brandon Jennings ever since the point guard decided not to go to college last year and instead, played professionally in Italy.  There were a lot of Jennings critics when he made this move, most notably college analysts like Dick Vitale.  As much as I love the college game, is the 1-year rule really in the best interests of the players?  I say no, as these talented players are not getting an “education” and are still treated like superstars on campus for one year before they jump to the pros.  His leadership has been questioned and he has gotten into some trouble for his “tweets” on Twitter, but this kid can play!  It looks like a year of professional basketball in Europe (which seemed to hurt his draft stock) better prepared Jennings for the NBA than any of the one-and-done players from college.  Jennings has been the best rookie by far this season, averaging 24.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.0 steal while shooting 46% from the field and 48% from behind the arc.  Jennings is the reason the Bucks are 8-4 and he made headlines on November 14th when he dropped an astounding 55 points on the Golden State Warriors, a Bucks rookie record and the third highest for a rookie in NBA history.

Many “experts” blasted the Bucks for drafting 20-year old point guard Brandon Jennings who played last season in pro ball overseas. But, he has been outstanding so far this season for the Bucks. He has played in 7 games (all starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 33.9 minutes, 25.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Jennings has even dropped 55 points recently in a game as his upside is scary high. 22-year old shooting guard Jodie Meeks comes off of the bench firing. Meeks has played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 15.6 minutes, 7.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

The Milwaukee Bucks are pleased with their rookie forwards who are giving them solid minutes so far this season. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is doing a great job for the Bucks so far this season. He has played in 16 games for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 29.7 minutes, 9.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He will even get more playing time if he continues to play like he is right now. Joe Alexander has played in 13 games for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 13.3 minutes, 4.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. The Bucks might increase Alexander’s playing time as the season goes on.

Even though Yi Jianlian was hard to deal with before they signed him he played well enough to calm the fans and media in Milwaukee down a bit. Yi Jianlian played in 66 games (49 starts) for the Bucks this season and he averaged 25.0 minutes, 8.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Yi Jianlian lost his starting job to Charlie Villanueva while he was injured and he will likely have to battle him for minutes next season too so he better improve his game a little bit.

The Bucks were pleasantly surprised with the play of 2nd round pick Ramon Sessions when he finally returned from injury late in the season. He played in 17 games (7 starts) for the Bucks this season and he averaged 26.5 minutes, 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Sessions will likely push Maurice Williams for playing time as he had an amazing 24 assists in one game this season.

Rookie power forward Yi Jianlian is losing playing time since returning from an injury. He is losing minutes to Charlie Villanueva who really has played well with the additional minutes he got when Yi was hurt. Yi has now played in 57 games (49 starts) this season for the Bucks and he is averaging 25.6 minutes, 9.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Yi is shooting 43.4% from the floor and 83.8% from the free throw line this season. Yi will have to improve to get more playing time as Villanueva has taken his starting job for now. The other Bucks rookie (Ramon Sessions) has yet to play in a game for the team.

Many experts didn’t like the Bucks pick of Jianlian Yi in the first round of the draft but he’s proving to be a solid player with a big upside. Yi has played in 27 games so far this season and he is averaging 27.9 minutes, 10.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 block per game. He also has been a solid shooter so far this season as he’s hitting 46.7% from the floor and 82.7% from the free throw line. Expect him to improve as the season goes on.