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Milwaukee Bucks: How Will The Starting Five Look?

By Lukas Harkins

Mar 30, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; The Milwaukee Bucks logo on the floor prior o the game against the Phoenix Suns at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 105-94. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 30, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; The Milwaukee Bucks logo on the floor prior o the game against the Phoenix Suns at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 105-94. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) attempts a three-point basket in the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Matthew Dellavedova

Coming off of his first NBA Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in June, Matthew Dellavedova has signed with the Bucks for the next four seasons on a deal worth $38 million. With that being said, the Bucks are a great fit for him as a player.

Delly has a lot of strengths that are absolutely needed by the Bucks, while also containing a few flaws that can be contained within the rest of the lineup.

First, Dellavedova’s best two qualities are by far his three-point shooting and defensive capabilities.

Strengths

For a team that ranked at the absolute bottom of the league in three-pointers made last season, the Bucks are desperately searching for more shooters. Along with that, Khris Middleton, the team’s best three-point shooter, is out for at least the next six months, expanding the need for shooting even further.

Dellavedova is a career 39.8 percent shooter from deep and can be expected to keep that percentage up heading into this season. Also, Delly knocked down 98 three-pointers last season in 24.6 minutes per game as a bench player in Cleveland. With the Bucks, he will be a starter and will definitely see an increase in his usage rate for this season.

After playing with LeBron James as his primary ball handler the last few seasons in Cleveland, Delly’s move to play next to Point Giannis should go very smoothly. Giannis is similar to LeBron in the way that they are both point forwards who excel in attacking the rim and kicking out to open shooters. Delly thrives as a catch-and-shoot player, where he ranked 3rd in the NBA at 46.9 percent from three, and should slide into a substantial role alongside Giannis and Jabari Parker.

On the other end of the ball, Dellavedova is very talented. At 6’4″, he has great size to guard point guards and he is also extremely dedicated to playing defense. He often picks up opposing players at half court and really forces his opponent to be engaged on offense for the entire shot clock.

Weaknesses

The biggest weakness when it comes to Dellavedova’s game is that he struggles as a primary ball handler. He is a decent distributor, but it is clear that he is better when he works off the ball. This is a flaw that can easily be hidden within the Bucks’ system.

With two extremely talented primary ball handlers in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter-Williams, Dellavedova will be allowed to play on the wing for the majority of his time on the floor. The key thing with this is that he is allowed to guard point guards on defense while playing on the wing.

Another flaw in Delly’s game is his lack of athleticism. In a game that is so often dictated by speed, vertical leap, and length, Delly is below average in all categories.

Dellavedova counteracts this with his height and high understanding of how to play defense, but he can sometimes struggle when matched up against the most athletic guards in the NBA, such as Russell Westbrook and John Wall.

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