Milwaukee Bucks: The future of Thon Maker
By Paul Headley
Areas to Improve: Offense
One thing that really stands out watching film on Maker is the fact that he seldom ever catches lobs. Maker is a fluid, athletic guy, he’s just not a very explosive one.
His lack of explosiveness, coupled with smaller hands than usual for a player his size, means he can’t quite explode over and around defenders the way guys like DeAndre Jordan can.
Maker has to find other ways to be effective when rolling to the basket. Players like Enes Kanter, Nikola Jokic or even his teammate Greg Monroe are all guys who depend on touch, bulk and smarts to score efficiently rolling to the rim. Before you lose your mind, Maker is more explosive than all of those guys, but they still stand out as players worth studying as he goes forward.
Passing is his biggest weakness on offense at the moment. Maker can move the ball along the perimeter, but anything more adventurous can lead to moments like this:
Maker’s role on offense was quite restrictive for the most part, so it’s difficult to figure out how good or bad his vision is. He certainly showed glimpses of improved passing in the playoffs, but for the moment, the simple pass is definitely still the better option.