Milwaukee Bucks rookie Malcolm Brogdon has had an inconsistent playoff series to date, and with his team’s reliance on his contribution that causes problems.
Malcolm Brogdon has been a pivotal player for the Milwaukee Bucks this season, but it isn’t fair to expect elite playoff production from a rookie, despite how poised and composed he has been over the course of the year.
Unlike in the series’ first three game, the Bucks just looked flat and unimpressive in a Game 5 defeat on Monday; and in spite of a stellar shooting night where he went 5-7 from deep, Malcolm Brogdon wasn’t much different to his teammates.
Throughout much of this series, Brogdon has looked like a rookie — perhaps for the first time this season.
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In five games, Brogdon’s PER (8.8) is down considerably from his season score of 14.9. Brogdon has averaged 32 minutes per games (160 total) — an increase from his 26.4 minutes per game during the regular season — but it’s unfair to blame only minutes for Brogdon’s play this series.
Kyle Lowry is a really tough matchup. When you see Brogdon on the defensive side of the ball, he is chest-to-chest with Lowry, shadowing him across the court, and in Game 5, he was often helping to trap DeRozan. That’s quite a backcourt tandem to deal with as a rookie with an increased workload.
And let’s not forget about the rookie’s back injury that kept him sidelined for five games down the stretch in the regular season.
There are a few things that jump out from Brogdon’s play in the playoffs so far: no free throws, no steals and too many turnovers.
You could argue Brogdon’s lack of steals comes from the fact he is always guarding the primary ball-handler, and the trap-man (typically Snell or Dellavedova) usually is the one coming away with some sort of steal.
But not getting to the line has been disappointing to watch. During the year, Brogdon may have only averaged 2.3 free throw attempts per 36 minutes, but through five games, Brogdon has yet to get to the line once.
Much of Brogdon’s offensive damage has come from behind the three-point line where he has looked more like someone who can shoot coming off of screens, rather than simply hitting open threes from a kick-out pass.
When Brogdon has penetrated, it has been difficult to watch the rookie draw contact but not draw the whistle. It’s even more frustrating when you see some of the star calls that have gone the other way in the series.
Lastly, the Bucks, as a team, have been atrocious turning the ball over. In Game 4 and 5 alone, Milwaukee committed 35 turnovers.
Through five games, Brogdon is averaging 2.2 turnovers per game, up from 1.5 per game during the regular season. He has six turnovers in the last two games alone. In Monday’s game, he had a plus/minus score of -8 in 33.5 minutes.
With the Raptors packing guys in the paint to stop Giannis, Brogdon has to be better with the ball, not forcing entry passes or cross-court swings.
Overall, this series has made something very obvious: The Bucks are missing something.
Obviously, Milwaukee needs Khris Middleton to step up as the clear number two scorer on this team, otherwise none of this really matters.
The Bucks are also still in need of a real, dependable point guard, though — a point guard who can make plays and get shots for other guys. Perhaps that’s what they were looking for when they signed Dellavedova, but at this point it looks like that just isn’t going to happen.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of Malcolm Brogdon, and I think he has a real future for the Bucks, but until they get someone in their rotation who can make plays and create shots consistently they need a more “sure-thing” option at point guard.
This series is likely a good preview of the next few years, especially with the way Giannis is being consistently blanketed. Toronto is creating a blueprint for the rest of the league in regards to how to slow down Giannis Antetokounmpo.
While Giannis has been able to still put in impressive, performances, it has been evident he cannot win games alone. Those around him, need to do more to avoid the stagnant offense we’ve seen in the past two games.
The guard play in this series has been terrible, aside from the three-point shooting of Tony Snell. Delly is inconsistent and is best getting in people’s heads, Middleton has been invisible, and Rashad is terrible. The fact that the Bucks are still relying on Jason Terry to give them quality minutes is the best indication of this problem.
Next: Win In 6 Podcast #120: The Inevitable Norm Powell Game
As much as I have clamored for Giannis to play some minutes at the five-spot, what does that mean for the rest of the Bucks’ lineup? More guards? Maybe, upon further review, that isn’t the best idea.