Projecting 5 Bucks Who Could Improve The Most Next Season

5 of 7

Apr 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Tyler Ennis (11) dribbles past Philadelphia 76ers forward Jerami Grant (39) at Wells Fargo Center. The Bucks won 107-97. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler Ennis

Following almost zero opportunities to play with a Phoenix Suns squad that was packed with point guards, and the unsettling experience of a mid-season trade to Milwaukee, it’s fair to say that Ennis’ rookie campaign was far from an ideal grounding for NBA development.

As a result, it’s fair to say that if afforded the chance, the 20-year-old could develop significantly this season. Don’t forget that in spite of getting few chances to play, in Ennis’ only start he notched up a very impressive eleven assists.

How many point guards have kicked on to have successful NBA careers following rookie campaigns as limited as his though? Well, by filtering players who played less than 450 minutes as a rookie while picking up over 70 assists and 15 steals, the answer seems to be more than you’d probably expect.

	Totals	Shooting
Player	G	MP	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PTS	FG%	3P%	FT%
Rex Walters	48	386	38	71	15	3	30	162	.522	.500	.824
Ramon Sessions	17	450	58	127	17	3	36	137	.436	.429	.780
Eric Snow	43	389	43	73	28	0	38	115	.420	.200	.592
Brad Davis	33	334	35	83	15	2	35	82	.417		.759
Byron Dinkins	33	362	40	75	19	2	37	115	.404	.111	.867
Avery Johnson	43	291	24	73	21	3	18	68	.349	.111	.563
Jerry Sichting	47	450	43	70	23	1	28	93	.358	.000	.781
Dee Brown	49	450	40	83	22	7	31	94	.327	.214	.649
Morlon Wiley	51	408	47	76	25	6	34	111	.404	.250	.813
Tierre Brown	40	403	42	70	19	3	40	123	.426	.333	.750
David Rivers	47	440	43	106	23	9	61	134	.402	.167	.833
Billy Donovan	44	364	25	87	16	1	42	105	.404	.000	.810
Ish Smith	43	442	47	79	18	2	34	101	.374	.300	.571
Tyler Ennis	33	411	35	73	18	5	42	121	.361	.279	.714
Elliot Perry	50	437	39	78	34	3	50	126	.380	.143	.659

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/24/2015.

Although this list won’t stop you in your tracks and make you think that Ennis is on a path to stardom, you will see familiar names on the list. Guys like Avery Johnson and Eric Snow carved out long and productive NBA careers for themselves after slow starts.

In both those cases, although they were far from making the jump to the starting five in their sophomore campaigns, they did double their minutes and production setting the table for what was to come later. Something that you couldn’t put past Ennis, particularly if he ends up the third choice point guard.

Next: Giannis Antetokounmpo

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