CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In their first game this season with Giannis Antetokounmpo on the sidelines, the Milwaukee Bucks earned an upset over the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 30, a win that served as a breakout game for starting point guard Ryan Rollins. The Bucks were not so lucky in their second game without their superstar forward, losing 111-100 to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.

Without the two-time MVP, the Bucks struggled to consistently break down the Hornets’ defense and create good shots. On the other end, the Hornets also struggled to create good looks playing without LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, but they rebounded 45.8 percent of their missed shots to create enough second-chance opportunities to comfortably beat the Bucks.

“I just didn’t think the ball moved,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after Wednesday’s loss. “You look at it: They shot 44 percent, we shot 45 percent. I mean, we set offense back tonight, both teams. But they did theirs better because when they missed, they got it back.”

With the loss, the Bucks are now 7-5 and tied for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat. The Bucks will get a chance for revenge on the Hornets when they play Charlotte in Milwaukee in NBA Cup group play Friday.

This pause between games with the Hornets gives us a chance to reflect on what we have seen with Milwaukee thus far this season. With 12 games done, here are a dozen thoughts on the Bucks this year.

1. The formula seems pretty simple

Without true wing-sized defenders, the Bucks are going to have to outscore opponents with an impeccably spaced floor for Antetokounmpo on the offense end and do what they can to survive on defense. Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner are a fine frontcourt duo defensively, and Rollins is an absolute pest on the ball, but in a league full of spectacular playmakers between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-8, the Bucks simply do not have the size required to impact players on the perimeter. That lack of size will also hurt them on the defensive glass.

If the Bucks want to win, they will need to lean into being more of an offensive team than a defensive team. That has largely been the case to this point. Before taking on the Hornets on Wednesday, the Bucks were eighth in offensive rating (118.4) and 20th in defensive rating (116.3), which means they are outscoring teams by 2.1 points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass.

(Note: Wednesday’s game dropped the Bucks to 12th in offensive rating (117.2), 20th in defensive rating (116.7) and a net rating of plus-0.5 points per 100 possessions.)

Rivers can have his players work on improving on the glass (25th in defensive rebounding rate) and trying to force more turnovers (18th in turnover rate), but the Bucks will need to rely on their offense to win.

2. Giannis is the MVP

One of the defining traits of Antetokounmpo’s 13-year NBA career has been his ability to improve year-over-year. No matter how spectacular he played in the previous season, the Greek Freak somehow manages to come back even better.

Last season, Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game while shooting 60.1 percent from the field. It was his second consecutive season averaging at least 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists per contest while making more than 60 percent of his shots. Those two seasons are the only such seasons in NBA history, per Stathead.

This season, Antetokounmpo is leading the league averaging 33.4 points per game. He’s also averaging 11.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists and is shooting 62.9 percent from the field, which includes shooting 75 percent at the rim where he is averaging 23.4 points per game in the paint. Though he is shooting a much worse percentage from midrange, he has also made 50 percent from 3.

With a roster that analysts said didn’t have the talent to compete at a high level, Antetokounmpo has led the Bucks to a 7-5 record and put up the most amazing numbers of his career. If that type of play sustained over a season isn’t good enough to earn him his third MVP, I’m not sure what could at this point.

3. Ryan Rollins is for real

Kevin Porter Jr. spraining his left ankle in the first quarter of the season opener was a tough blow for the Bucks. It only got worse when he tore his right meniscus trying to rehab the ankle sprain. One silver lining: it created opportunity for the Bucks’ biggest revelation to start the season.

The Bucks have always been clear in their belief in Rollins. They converted the former two-way point guard to a standard NBA contract last season and signed him to a three-year, $12 million deal this past summer, but even the Bucks could not have expected this level of production.

Rollins has stepped into the starting lineup following Porter’s injury and averaged 17.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 31.2 minutes per game with shooting splits of 52.7 percent from the field, 45.9 percent from 3 and 80.8 percent from the free-throw line. Rollins’ efficient offensive production comes in addition to strong point-of-attack defense that has made him the league leader in deflections per game (6.3).

There are still moments where Rollins makes the wrong decision in attacking the basket or taking a shot or forcing a pass, but the minimal growing pains have done little to detract from the 23-year-old point guard’s overwhelmingly positive contributions.

4. Bucks love Myles Turner

Looking at the box score stats from the outside, someone might see that Turner’s per-game scoring average (12.4) is less than it was last season (15.6) with the Indiana Pacers. They will see his 3-point percentage (36.8) is slightly lower than last season and assume that one of the NBA’s biggest free-agent signings of the summer has been a disappointment for the Bucks through 12 games.

But that would be completely wrong. Turner is beloved by his teammates and been a transformative figure for the Bucks’ offensive attack in his first season in Milwaukee.

Heading into the season, many wondered if Turner could be the Bucks’ second star alongside Antetokounmpo. Here at The Athletic, we asked Bucks fans if they thought Turner would make his first All-Star Game in his first season in Milwaukee. But those ideas represent a misunderstanding of his true value, because the 29-year-old center does not focus on his own numbers and positioning himself for larger stardom. Instead, Turner focuses on doing everything in his power to make the team better, and he has done that so far.

The Bucks’ five-out offensive attack centered around Antetokounmpo has worked well this season because of the two-time MVP’s brilliance, but also because Turner is willing to use his mobility and intelligence to open up shots for his teammates by sacrificing himself with perfectly timed cuts and screens. His unending commitment to putting the team first has quickly endeared him to teammates and immediately made Turner a locker-room leader.

5. Kyle Kuzma is playing his role

Joining the Bucks at the trade deadline did not go well for Kyle Kuzma last season. He averaged 14.5 points per game in 33 appearances with the Bucks in the regular season, but he never found a groove and struggled mightily in the team’s first-round loss to the Pacers.

With a poor close to the season, it was unclear how Rivers would go about using Kuzma in his second season in Milwaukee. Rather than try Kuzma in the starting lineup again, Rivers decided to bring the forward off the bench. Not only has Kuzma embraced the role, he has also excelled in it.

Even with a poor shooting performance in Wednesday’s short-handed loss in Charlotte, Kuzma is still making a career-high 51.9 percent of his shots and averaging 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 25.5 minutes per game. Those per-game averages are much lower than what he did with the Washington Wizards, but they fall in line with what he was doing with the Los Angeles Lakers when he was an effective player as a reserve. If he can continue to embrace being a downhill attacker off the bench and playing tough defense — as he has through the first 12 games — Kuzma could be a positive for the Bucks this season, even if his role is smaller.

6. Bucks still working through Bobby Portis’ role

Adding Turner to the mix in Milwaukee has led to changes for the Bucks to better leverage his unique skill set. Rivers started the season with a significant focus on Turner’s minutes, whether that meant playing him almost exclusively with Antetokounmpo (as he did in the first eight games) or staggering his minutes with Antetokounmpo to keep one of them on the floor at all times.

The focus placed on the two bigs in the starting lineup has led to deemphasizing some of the things the Bucks used to run for their third big, Bobby Portis. To his credit, Portis has not complained. He has regularly told reporters this is a season of sacrifice for everybody, so he is embracing the changes and trying to find and eventually star in his new role.

However, that role has kept changing through 12 games, and finding the best way to fit Portis’ talents into the larger plan will be something to watch as the season progresses.

7. Starting lineup hasn’t found its groove

While Rivers has moved away from using all-bench lineups as he did in the first eight games of the season, the Bucks’ starting lineup of Rollins, AJ Green, Gary Trent Jr., Antetokounmpo and Turner has played more minutes together (144) than any other five-man unit outside of the Denver Nuggets’ starting five. Despite this, the Bucks’ starting lineup has been outscored by 4.9 points per 100 possessions.

Their struggles have been more significant on the defensive end, as that lineup has given up 121.5 points per 100 possessions (33rd percentile, per Cleaning the Glass). But they have also been a below-average offensive unit (46th percentile), scoring just 116.6 points per 100 possessions. Rivers has been committed to that lineup this season, but it will be interesting to see if that group can stabilize into a positive unit.

8. Injuries having an early impact

With a roster many underestimated before the start of this season, outsiders might not comprehend what has happened in Milwaukee from an injury perspective. The Bucks have played their first dozen games without their starting point guard, and one of their key reserves has missed the last four games.

The NBA is a cutthroat league, and other teams are dealing with worse, so no one is going to feel any sympathy for the Bucks. But injuries to Porter and Taurean Prince, who is out indefinitely with a herniated disk in his neck, have dealt a blow to the Bucks’ depth. They have survived it thus far, but the injuries have been significant.

9. Gary Trent Jr. just does his job

The Bucks’ decision to play Antetokounmpo in a further-emphasized point forward role this season meant an even greater need for high-level shooters to spread the floor. Trent did that off the bench last season, and he’s doing it again this season in the starting lineup, averaging 10 points and 2.3 assists per game while knocking down 37.7 percent of his 6.3 3-point attempts per game.

It is unclear if starting two shooting guards will work across the entire season, but with the current injuries, it is the Bucks’ best play for the foreseeable future. That means the Bucks will need Trent to continue aggressively hunt 3-point looks and defend well at the point of attack as he has to start the season.

10. AJ Green can’t stop fouling to start games

Rivers has used two shooting guards, Green and Trent, in the starting lineup. The Bucks have also focused on being more physical defensively this season. That has led to Green regularly starting games in foul trouble. In fact, Green has been called for 18 first-quarter fouls this season. Per Stathead, only 19 players in the NBA have 10 or more first-quarter fouls this season, and the next closest total is 12.

Green has not fouled out of a game yet, so he has been able to manage the issue, but it has certainly limited his playing time and rhythm in multiple games.

11. Cole Anthony’s play can be volatile

It is difficult to imagine the Bucks winning their second game of the season in Toronto without Cole Anthony’s 23 points off the bench and clutch playmaking to close out the game. Similarly, Anthony made a significant impact in the Bucks’ win over the Warriors without Antetokounmpo. Conversely, Anthony’s ejection against the Sacramento Kings and recent poor play has directly contributed to losses.

The idealized version of a backup point guard might be a steady, low-floor-but-positive player, but that is not Anthony. Through a dozen games, it seems he will run hot and cold — and the Bucks will have to hope for more hot than cold in the aggregate.

12. The Bucks are a good team … probably

Through 12 games, the Bucks have a winning percentage of 58.3 percent. Multiply that percentage by 82 games and you get 47.8 wins. Round to the nearest number and you get 48 wins, which is exactly how many wins the Bucks collected last season on their way to the fifth seed in the East.

Their net rating of plus-0.5 has their expected win total currently at 42.3, per Cleaning the Glass. Ultimately, that range probably feels right for this team as eight of their 12 games have featured clutch-time (within five points under five minutes left) possessions, and they have currently won five of those eight games.

The Bucks have played two of their 12 games without Antetokounmpo. While that may seem like a lot because it is a small sample of total games, that percentage used over a full season would mean Antetokounmpo plays in 68 games, which is his average number of games played over the last four seasons.

The Bucks will only go as far as Antetokounmpo can take them. To this point, however, they appear to be able to play with just about any team when he is on the floor, which means they should find themselves in a multitude of close games. The margins will be tight, and the Bucks may need to perform at a high level in close games to get to a 48-win pace or better. But through a dozen games, they appear to be a good team.