Milwaukee Bucks: How each player can improve before the season’s end

John Henson: Keep it up

Henson is playing some of the best basketball of his life. The longest-tenured Buck looks comfortable in his complementary role on the court, and is leading as a veteran player off the court.

Jacob Ahlmann wrote about how consistent minutes have contributed to Henson’s career highs in field goal percentage and net rating.

Singling out any one area where he’s underperforming seems nit-picky. Henson still struggles holding up against the girth of behemoths like Hassan Whiteside and Andre Drummond, but is competing as best as he can with his frame.

Due to his strong effort, he’s held up for a 18.6 percent defensive rebounding rate, ranking at the 57th percentile for bigs, a significant improvement over the past couple of seasons.

He won’t be the ideal modern big man with floor spacing and switchability, but he’s playing to his strengths with his lefty hook and rim protection. The Bucks rank at the 83rd percentile in offensive rating and 73rd percentile in defensive rating when he’s on the court.

The driving force is the Bucks’ stars, not Henson, but the lefty is the glue guy finding his spots with his finishing abilities and rim protection. Consistency has been Henson’s problem in the past, so continuing his current play would represent a significant improvement on previous seasons.