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Milwaukee Bucks: Tony Snell provided a versatile offensive attack last season

By Ti Windisch

MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 22: (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 22: (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) /
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Tony Snell is known for being a sharpshooter, but he provides the Milwaukee Bucks with more than just threes on offense.

Tony Snell is a prototypical three-and-d wing player. That kind of player provides a lot of value in the NBA these days, especially for a team like the Milwaukee Bucks who has to put shooters around Giannis Antetokounmpo, himself not a knockdown three-point specialist.

That’s enough for Snell to get paid a whole lot of money in the modern NBA, now that spacing is at a premium. Just because he’s most known for his three-pointers doesn’t mean that’s all Snell added to Milwaukee last year, though.

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When looking through how each Buck performed offensively from multiple zones on the floor, Snell’s name doesn’t leave the top third of the list most of the time. For three-pointers, that much is expected.

Snell nailed 41.8 percent of his above-the-break threes, 42.7 percent of his right corner threes, and 34.3 percent of his left corner threes last season. Those numbers rank fourth, fourth, and seventh among rotation (aka not Spencer Hawes or Steve Novak) Bucks last year.

His success was limited to not outside of the arc, contrary to popular belief. He didn’t take a lot of mid-range jumpers, but Snell nailed 43.8 percent of the shots he did take there, third-best among rotation Bucks. He averaged just 0.8 of those shots per game, but as he does with most shots, the ones Snell did take were damn good looks.

The only zone in which Snell is lower than seventh is in the paint but outside of the restricted area, a small zone in which he only averaged 0.3 shots per game. He made just 34.8 percent of his shots there, 10th among the Bucks.

Snell made up for that poor percentage by his excellence around the rim. His field goal percentage in the restricted area was top-notch last season, as Snell made 66.7 percent of those shots, third-best among rotation Bucks. Only Michael Beasley and Giannis were better from that zone.

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Surprisingly, Tony Snell converted more shots around the rim than players like Jabari Parker and Greg Monroe. He doesn’t take a ton of those shots, attempting just 1.2 of them per game, but that’s just Snell’s game. Take open shots when you can get them, and otherwise don’t shoot.

Just 8.6 percent of Snell’s total shots last season came with a defender within two feet of him, and only 21.2 percent of his looks came with a defender within two-to-four feet from him. That leaves more than 70 percent of his looks, all which came with a defender farther from four feet away from Snell on offense.

The percentage of contested shots Snell takes farther from the rim is even lower, as just 13.6 percent of his attempts came with a defender within four feet of him. The man has no interest in pulling up in somebody’s face when he can find a better look.

He can afford to be that picky thanks to guys like Giannis, Jabari, and Monroe, who take the tough shots and open up the floor for complimentary players like Snell. Still, it’s important for the players on both ends of the equation to hold up their ends of the deal, which makes Snell’s contract worthwhile.

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The stars are more important, of course, but without Snell, Malcolm Brogdon, and other players to take advantage of the adjustments made to stop Giannis and Jabari the Bucks’ ceiling would be a lot lower.

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