Milwaukee Bucks: Grading the starters after 1 month of games

One month into the 2017-18 season, the Milwaukee Bucks are right where many expected. How should the starters be graded on their performance thus far?

One month in, the Milwaukee Bucks are right where most expected them to be. At 8-6, the Bucks are tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference and on pace for 47 wins. But the route they took to get there has featured plenty of surprises.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was expected to be incredible, and he is — and more, jostling elbows with James Harden, LeBron James and Joel Embiid for early MVP consideration. Beside him, Khris Middleton has run hot and cold as his wingman.

After an exciting 3-1 start where Antetokounmpo put his mark on the league, the Bucks began to stumble. A 1-5 stretch followed, with the lone win over the lowly Atlanta Hawks. The defense was springing leaks left and right, and Giannis’ most Herculean efforts were not enough to win the shootouts demanded of him.

Then the team leapt into the fray of the trade market, sending center Greg Monroe and a protected first round pick to the Phoenix Suns for point guard Eric Bledsoe. Since Bledsoe joined the lineup, the Bucks are 4-0, including wins over three teams firmly in the playoff picture.

Exactly one month since the Bucks’ opening night victory over the Boston Celtics (Boston’s last loss as of this writing) how does the starting lineup look? We know Antetokounmpo has been excellent, but how does he compare to his peers? And how do the other four starters around him grade out?