Since the start of the season, AJ Green finished more matches with a “0” in the points column than with “10” or more. But on four occasions he managed to reach this level, with a peak of 27 against Minnesota, and the last occurrence of which was this game against the Sixers.
The 14 points (3/7 at 3-pts) that he scored, including 6 in the last quarter, were valuable for the Bucks. “AJ is a sniper. He’s going to shoot, he’s going to put them in”, notes Damian Lillard. “AJ was excellent, ruling out the game”continues Doc Rivers, who gave him 28 minutes to speak, his season record.
Another element to highlight in his performance: his defense on Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers guard was in good shape with 29 points after 36 minutes, at 12/18 on the shoot. To counter him in the home stretch of the game, Doc Rivers cuts pass returns and puts AJ Green (1m93) on his back, to provide size that Damian Lillard or Patrick Beverley (1m88 each) do not possess.
“At one point, we did a two-hander and his role was to cut Maxey out of the game. He did a remarkable job”specifies the Bucks coach.
Well contested, Tyrese Maxey, whose last successful shots at the end of the third quarter were very hard, will not manage to score a single basket (0/5, a free throw scored) in the fourth quarter.
“A player like him requires an effort from the whole team. We wanted to take the ball out of his hands a little more so we started to take him in pairs, to be more present on screens, to force him to let go of the ball and then cut him off from the pass,” details AJ Green. “When I was defending on him, I just wanted it to be harder for him. He's going to take the shots, so you have to make him work. Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis had my back, making my life easier. »
| AJ Green | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2022-23 | MIL | 35 | 10 | 42.4 | 41.9 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 4.4 |
| 2023-24 | MIL | 43 | 10 | 42.2 | 40.5 | 90.9 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 4.3 |
| Total | 78 | 10 | 42.3 | 41.1 | 93.3 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 4.4 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
