The Milwaukee Bucks were already looking to rely on Matthew Dellavedova this season, but recent developments have only stressed why they’ll need him now more than ever.
The injury to Khris Middleton has already dampened expectations for the Milwaukee Bucks well before the season has begun.
Although the Bucks are only beginning to feel the effects of his absence, the talk of who they’ll look to turn to fill Middleton’s spot in the starting lineup has certainly dominated the discussion around the team recently.
We’re still far away from a final decision from head coach Jason Kidd, but no matter how it plays out the loss of Middleton is one the Bucks will be hard to successfully navigate in many ways.
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As they now turn to new additions and players that have plenty to prove to collectively fill the void left by Middleton, one player in particular has become more important for the Bucks.
Since coming to the team as part of a sign-and-trade deal during the offseason, Matthew Dellavedova was quickly envisioned to be an integral contributor for the Bucks heading into this season.
The reason for that is obvious as Dellavedova’s strengths fall in line with what the Bucks needed in the wake of handing lead play-making duties to Giannis Antetokounmpo in the middle of last season.
With Middleton on the sidelines for at least the majority of the season, Dellavedova’s presence on the roster has only gained more significance in recent weeks.
In a backcourt that has plenty of question marks that’s now without Middleton, Dellavedova has now risen to being the most reliable starting option from said backcourt for the Bucks.
We may be getting ahead of ourselves since Dellavedova hasn’t been guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup at this point. Yet Middleton’s absence only strengthens why Dellavedova belongs as part of the team’s starting five.
However, where we might have to pause for concern is how a bigger workload could possibly affect Dellavedova going forward.
It’s not exactly a matter of a heavy amount of minutes for Dellavedova. Albeit in a small sample size, Dellavedova’s numbers largely stayed the same in games where he played 30-39 minutes, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Where most of the concern lies with Dellavedova is how a potential expanded role would affect his play over the course of a season.
Even as Dellavedova’s minutes decreased after the All-Star break last year, his production took a slide, with his shooting efficiency taking the biggest hit. Dellavedova’s effective field goal percentage dipped from 52.1 percent before the break to 46.5 percent after the break, per NBA.com/stats.
Sure, the wear and tear of an 82 game season likely had an effect on Dellavedova’s output in the second half of the season. Plus, if we’re being honest, Dellavedova’s three-point percentage after the All-Star break (37 percent) would be welcomed with open arms from all Bucks fans, considering the team’s shooting problems last year.
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With that said, there’s a glaring difference in the Cleveland Cavaliers team Dellavedova is coming from to the Bucks team he’s starting to getting used to.
If the challenge of getting accustomed to a new team wasn’t enough for Dellavedova, the loss of Middleton might add some more pressure in his transition to a new squad. Standing as one of the few respected shooters on the team, Dellavedova could start to face added attention at the three-point line from opposing teams, especially as part of the starting lineup.
Again, the loss of Middleton is still so fresh for everyone involved and any plan the Bucks had in mind for the upcoming season is now being modified on the fly as the team’s preseason is about to begin.
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Nonetheless, the Bucks will now have to turn to a committee of players to take on bigger roles in place of Middleton this season, with Dellavedova arguably taking the biggest among them.