There’s an old adage about staying ready so you don’t have to get ready. It’s something you hear a lot when discussions about the Milwaukee Bucks’ Thon Maker arise this season.

Now in his third year, Maker would not have been faulted for thinking his role would increase this season after showing signs of his potential over the past two campaigns, despite not playing regular minutes under former head coach Jason Kidd.

However, in the Bucks’ first 14 games, Maker appeared in just six, and played more than 10 minutes just twice. Maker could have sulked and questioned whether he had a long-term role on a rising Milwaukee team, but he didn’t.cheap official nike nfl jerseys

Instead, he kept working hard; he watched and learned.

“Just staying in the gym, continuing to work, watching film, watching the games, obviously; taking notes on the sideline,” Maker tells ESPN. ” [I was] in the gym non-stop, at midnight, 2am … whenever. I’m always in the gym.

“Taking care of my body is another [big] part as well – lifting, doing extra work just to stay ready. Conditioning is the toughest part outside of those because you can’t get into game shape because you’re not actually playing.

“Just staying in shape was anther tough part, I had to push myself extra hard in the drills. Even in shootarounds when guys are going through the motions, I can’t do that. I’m not playing as many minutes as they are so I gotta go extra hard.”

In his past seven games he’s averaging a shade under 4 points per game in just over 12 minutes per game, but it isn’t so much about the offensive numbers as it is the energy he brings to the team when he’s on the floor.cheap wholesale nike nfl jerseys

“Thon’s done a great job just staying ready all year,” Milwaukee’s superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo says. “That’s the type of player Thon is, on any given night [he can] give energy to the team. If it’s getting a rebound, blocking shots or hitting some threes, he can do all those. But his number one focus is bringing energy, so I think he’s done a great job coming in and bringing energy and playing hard.”