Milwaukee Bucks 2014-15 Season Review: O.J. Mayo

Nov 28, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard O.J. Mayo (00) dribbles the ball to the basket during the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Strengths

There’s no question that O.J. Mayo is a ready, eager shooter. It’s fitting then, that his strongest strength is in bringing instant offense to a bench unit that lacks scoring. Mayo led the bench with 11.4 points per game and was the only bench player to score in double digits. Perhaps more importantly he seemed to embrace the role as the Milwaukee Bucks’ sixth man.

Mayo’s scoring ability often earned him late-game burn in tight games. This was seen most apparently in a 113-105 OT victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

At the time the Bucks were riding a four game winning streak–their longest such streak in nearly two years. Fan support really began to ramp up as people started to understand that losing Jabari Parker wasn’t the end of the Bucks’ season; and with back-to-back wins against Portland and Toronto, the Bucks looked like a team capable of making some post-season noise.

But with just 1:02 left in the fourth quarter the Bucks faced a 91-85 deficit to the lowly (13-35) Lakers. Then O.J. Mayo happened.

Mayo finished second on the team in terms of the percentage of his field goal attempts that were three-pointers (behind Jared Dudley) with 39.5 percent of his shots coming from deep. Khris Middleton, who led the Bucks in three-point percentage (40.7) only took 30.8 percent of his shots from behind the arc. Mayo delivered on the volume of his three point shooting by hitting 35.7 percent of his three point shots, finishing second in three point makes with 99 (Middleton led the team with 109).

While Mayo should be seen more as a scorer than a shooter it’s his shooting ability, particularly from deep, that stands as his single greatest strength.

Next: Weaknesses