Behind the Bucks Pass
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Greg Monroe: A Fourth Quarter Factor

By Jason Kezman

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The Milwaukee Bucks were 5-9 in games decided by three points or less last season.

On Wednesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center the Bucks found themselves trailing by three points, 80-83, with 2:54 remaining the in the fourth Quarter.

Out of a timeout the Bucks inbounded the ball to Greg Monroe standing on the right wing. Khris Middleton cut to the rim and Monroe darted a perfect pass into his hands, 82-83. After a 76ers basket on the other end, Monroe found himself with the ball in his hands again, this time on the left block. Monroe backed his man down, drop-stepped and kissed a soft left hook off the glass, 84-85.

A stop on defense and now the Bucks found themselves with the ball down one point with 1:30 left in the game. This time however, the Bucks fed Middleton the ball in a post up situation with the smaller TJ McConnell guarding him. Jahil Okafor, who was shadowing Monroe near the foul line, came over on a soft double team. Monroe recognized the double, and cut hard to the rim where Middleton promptly found him and Monroe finished the easy layup.

Three possessions, three Monroe touches, and six points he was responsible for, gave Milwaukee an 86-85 lead. A lead they would not relinquish en route to a 91-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

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So what does the aforementioned 5-9 record from last season have to do with any of this? With the defense the Bucks possessed last season, they found themselves in almost every game they played. It seemed that late in the fourth quarter the Bucks were either clinging to a lead or narrowly trailing.

But in how many of those contests did we see poor late game execution of the offense? The ball stopped moving, players over dribbled, and jump shots were missed. But these are issues that every NBA team deals with at the end of games. That is the nature of 4th quarters in the NBA.

Offenses are forced to run more half court sets, defenses turn up the intensity, and players tense up as pressure sets in. For teams with the likes of LeBron, James Harden, or Steph Curry, many of the issues previously mentioned can be covered up by superior individual talent.

The Bucks did not have such a player last year, who could single handedly get buckets and win games down the stretch when the offense went stagnant.

Enter Moose.

Now, I am not comparing Greg Monroe to LeBron James…at all. I am saying however, that Greg Monroe can score during the times of games that the Bucks could not buy a basket last year. The stretches of these games that cost the Bucks more than a handful of victories last season. Stretches which led them to being the only playoff team in the Eastern Conference with a losing record in games decided by three points or less.

An example of Monroe’s impact came Monday night as well. The Bucks were trailing the Nets late in the fourth quarter, and they had gone four minutes without scoring a point. Khris Middleton attempted an entry pass to Monroe, which was deflected into the corner. Monroe gathered the ball, beat Thomas Robinson off the dribble and finished a contested shot around the rim to regain the lead for the Bucks. It was an awful offensive possession, yet Monroe put the ball in the hoop. That is what he is here to do.

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When things are going wrong, when nobody can make a shot, feed the Moose.

Even if Monroe is not scoring the ball from the post late in games, simply having a player who can garner a double team will be instrumental for this Bucks late game offense. Monroe is a more than capable passer out of the post, as he displayed Wednesday night. If a double team comes, he can kick the ball out of the post, where the offense can find an open shooter or a mismatch to expose. If the double team does not arrive, Monroe has a bag full of tricks on the low block to get a high percentage look late in games.

How many wins Monroe will give the Bucks late in games remains to be seen. But already he appears to be creating much better options than the Bucks were getting last season.

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