Not a dissimilar question as it focuses in on another key need for the Bucks, but Delly has had excellent shooting percentages over the course of his time in Cleveland, is that just down to the space that the quality options around him created or is he that reliable as a shooter?
AF: Dellavedova has consistently improved his shooting, and I believe that is because he has both improved technically and benefitted from playing with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. The Bucks have similarly good options to space the floor with Antetokounmpo playing similarly to James and Middleton creating space as a scorer. I think Dellavedova will have to work for his shot more in Milwaukee, but he’s been solid thanks to good spacing. My guess is there is a slight drop-off initially, but he’ll recover.
CDS: As I said earlier, Delly is a fine catch-and-shoot option. However, I believe that a lot of these were due to the gravity of LeBron James and the other members of the Cavs Big Three. Delly is unlikely to have too many more open looks in Milwaukee and is still not a reliable shooter off the dribble.
JG: Any off-the-dribble jumper he takes makes me cringe. It’s, more or less, a hopeless endeavor. Luckily, a high percentage of his three-point makes and attempts are of the catch-and-shoot variety. After watching defenders ignore MCW at the three-point line, Bucks fans will enjoy a perimeter player who opens up the lane by virtue of his shooting ability. A great deal of his three-point makes were due to the space provided by the other star players but, with Jabari, Giannis and Khris Middleton on the court, he’ll likely have a similar amount of space to launch next season as he did this year.
MR: In Cleveland, Delly did not try to create his own shot often, aside from his floaters in the paint. But he drives to the basket, is a great free throw shooter, and a great spot-up shooter. The latter goes beyond his time with the Cavs, since he averaged 41% on field goals (46% on 2-pointers and 38% on threes) in college at St. Mary’s. He seems to thrive most as a shooter when he has a point forward like LeBron or Antetokounmpo who can drive and kick it out to an open Delly, who will be waiting and ready to hit the three.
JF: Dellavedova has consistently improved his shooting, but it would be a mistake to not point out that he was getting wide open looks consistently the last two seasons. Playing with LeBron has many advantages including constantly getting wide-open looks. He has improved drastically as a shooter since coming into the league, but I do expect a dip in his shooting percentage because he won’t get the wide-open looks in Milwaukee that he got in Cleveland.
Next: Expectations