Welcome to the 2022-23 edition of the Bucks Weekly Spotlight. Each Thursday, we’ll track the progress of the players who are trying to help Milwaukee make another championship run and give updates on other players from the previous week.

This is the 2nd edition of the 2023-23 Bucks Weekly Spotlight.

SPOTLIGHT ON …

Guard Jevon Carter

Confidence goes a long way in the NBA.

Some players are born with it. For others, it develops over time, like a jump shot.

Carter’s confidence was maxed out when he got out of bed Wednesday morning, 10 odd hours before setting career highs, with 36 points and 12 assists, in the Bucks’ 136-132 double-overtime win at Oklahoma City.

“They put a lot of trust in me,” Carter said of his Milwaukee teammates, after playing his most minutes (44:46) in an NBA game during his five seasons. “They told me to go out there and just be me – be free.”

Carter shot 15-for-27 from the floor, matched his season-best 3-point tally with five (set four days earlier, at home, vs. OKC) and collected four rebounds and a steal. Coach Mike Budenholzer called Carter special.

“That’s really big for us,” said Budenholzer, referencing the production that Carter brought to the table from the point guard spot in Jrue Holiday’s stead. “[Carter’s] got a ton of confidence. … He’s one of those guys, I think, when you give him a look, a crack, he’s going to come busting through it.”

Budenholzer is 100% right.

In 11 games this season, Carter, the 32nd overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, is averaging a career-high 8.1 points to go along with 2.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals. He’s already started 11 games this season – yup, right now Carter is a nightly starter – which is one fewer than his total entering 2022-23.

In the last week, Carter has made 12 of 22 3-point attempts (54.5%), has blocked five shots – mind you, Carter is all of 6-foot-1, aka relatively tiny for an NBA player – and picked opponents’ pockets five times.

On Wednesday, everything was in Carter’s wheelhouse.

He thrived as a distributor, aggressive in attacking the paint and making the OKC defense collapse, then finding open teammates and making smart passes. He scored from just about everywhere and in every possible manner – via fadeaways, runners, catch-and-shoot 3s and isolated off the dribble. It was a clinic.

This season, Carter’s role is different. More important. But there’s no change in Carter’s confidence.

Moments after casting off the Thunder and warding off a postgame interview shower from supportive teammates – Carter apparently said no water before chatting on camera – Bally Sports Wisconsin’s Zora Stephenson asked Carter when he knew that he had it. Carter’s eyes raised, a stone-cold look on his face.

“When I woke up,” Carter said.

After a pause, Stephenson chimed in with the perfect follow-up: This morning, what’d you think?

“Let’s get it.”

BUCKSHOTS

– First-round rookie MarJon Beauchamp got loose last week. On Nov. 4 at Minnesota, he sank six of 10 shots en route to a 14-point, 5-rebound night. He started two of the next three Bucks games, and caught fire Wednesday against the Thunder, recording career highs in points (19), rebounds (8) and steals (2). Through his first eight NBA games, Beauchamp is averaging 5.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.0 minutes.

– Knee soreness kept Giannis Antetokounmpo out of the lineup in games Saturday and Wednesday against Oklahoma City. When he did play last week, he was hushed to a degree on the scoring sheet. Antetokounmpo posted 26 points Nov. 4 vs. the Wolves and had 25 at Atlanta on Nov. 7, shooting 43.2% combined. Keep in mind, Giannis hadn’t poured in fewer than 30 points since opening night (Oct. 20).

– Holiday stayed in holiday mode from Oct. 29-Nov. 4, a four-game stretch featuring some crazy averages: 28.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists. Holiday came back to earth this past Saturday, scoring just 10 on 3-of-10 shooting – granted, he dished a season-best 13 dimes – and was capped at 16 points in Monday’s loss to the Hawks. Holiday most recently was inactive because of a right ankle sprain.

– Bucks sharpshooter Grayson Allen has scored in double figures in four straight games, dating to Nov. 4. In that span, he’s clipped 12 of 19 attempts (63.2%) from 3-point land, and added 12 assists, four steals and three blocks – a well-rounded impact. Maybe, the most impressive part of his week was his response to coach Mike Budenholzer giving Beauchamp the nod to make his first career start, over Allen, vs. OKC on Nov. 5 – it was the only game this season where Allen has entered off the bench. Rather than pouting, Allen netted a season-high 19 points on 6 of 8 shooting – 5 of 6 from deep – in just 20 minutes of action.

– Last week, we wrote about one big reason for Milwaukee’s 7-0 start: center Brook Lopez. In the four games since, Lopez is a bigger reason why the Bucks own the league’s best record at 10-1. With key starters missing some games, Lopez has held down the fort. He notched 25 and 24 points in Milwaukee’s pair of wins over the Thunder, and blocked five more shots Wednesday, bringing his total to an NBA-best 30. And get a load of this: Lopez’s 45+ minutes in Milwaukee’s 2OT win at OKC were his most in a regular-season contest since the 2010-11 campaign … quick math … when Brook was 22 years old!