Milwaukee Bucks: Analyzing Eric Bledsoe/Terry Rozier matchup

Offense

For all the concern over his fit upon his arrival as well as his periodic dips in production throughout the year, Eric Bledsoe narrowly finished with the most efficient season of his eight-year career.

Across his 71 appearances with the Bucks this season, Bledsoe averaged 17.8 points on shooting splits of .476/.349/.793, making for a career-high 58.5 true shooting percentage. That may come as a genuine surprise for some who can’t overlook Bledsoe’s hangups, such as his favoring more inefficient shots (i.e. mid-range jumpers) and occasionally launching questionable looks early in the shot clock.

However, Bledsoe’s presence of the floor has ultimately led to great things for the Bucks, seeing that he holds the highest offensive rating of any integral player on the team. In the times Bledsoe sat on the bench this season, the Bucks’ offensive potency stumbled down to 103 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com/stats.

The same can be applied to Bledsoe’s distribution and overall playmaking as his penchant for racking up gaudy turnovers on a given night can stick out like a sore thumb, as evidenced by his 1.71 assist-to-turnover ratio. But after finishing with 5.1 assists per game, Bledsoe’s willing and capable playmaking can shine through at times as well.

As for Rozier, the Ohio native has been a serviceable role player for the Celtics all season, showing significant strides since his inauspicious beginnings after being taken 16th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.

The Louisville product has been his most productive to this point of his young career, scoring 11 points over his 80 appearances with Boston. While his overall efficiency can still be improved to league-average marks, it’s been Rozier’s success from beyond the arc that has bolstered his offensive effectiveness as he knocked down 38.1 percent on 5 three-point attempts per game during the regular season.

If that’s not enough to show how far Rozier has come in his third year, it’s been the admirable job he’s done since assuming lead point guard duties that has played a part in the Celtics’ “next man up” mantra that has defined their season thus far. In his 16 spot starts this year, Rozier averaged 15.6 points on shooting splits of .381/.389/.750, along with 5.1 assists in 33.6 minutes.

Of course, Rozier’s offensive talents may not be to the All-Star levels of Irving, but the days of undervaluing the 24-year-old’s skill level on that end of the floor are no more.