Milwaukee Bucks 2017-18 Season Review: Shabazz Muhammad

The best of Muhammad

Muhammad is far from a seamless fit for what the modern NBA asks of players, yet that often allows the positive contributions he offers to be criminally overlooked. This isn’t new for the Bucks, as Michael Beasley represented much of the same, and filled a similar role for the team in 2016-17.

Muhammad isn’t the player you build a fluid half-court offense around, but he is the guy who can go and get you a bucket when everything else breaks down. On a team as offensively dysfunctional as the Bucks were, things broke down a lot and Muhammad was often on hand to tidy up and reap the rewards.

Muhammad finished the season with just 11 regular season games in Milwaukee under his belt, but with no shortage of positives to show from them.

Of players who played at least 100 minutes, Muhammad led the Bucks in net rating (12.4) and defensive rating (98.4), and was second only to Eric Bledsoe in offensive rating (110.8). For what it’s worth, Muhammad essentially mirrored these numbers in the playoffs too: net rating of 12.2, offensive rating of 111.7, and defensive rating of 99.6.

Muhammad also led the Bucks in regular season true shooting percentage (62.4 percent) and turnover percentage (1.2 percent).

One of the biggest criticisms leveled at Muhammad is his lack of assists and how the ball tends to stick in his hands, but in that context those turnover numbers deserve further discussion. Muhammad had just a single turnover in 117 regular season minutes in Milwaukee, leading to an assist to turnover ratio of 7.0. You may not have always liked the shot, but Muhammad possessions either ended up in a shot or were passed off to a teammate with minimal fuss.

If utilized properly, Muhammad would only have been on the court when Giannis Antetokounmpo took a seat and the Bucks desperately needed someone else to shoulder the offensive load. Averaging a team-high 29.0 points per 36 minutes, it’s hard to say he didn’t deliver on that front.

Equally notable, Muhammad averaged 9.6 rebounds per 36 minutes, the most of any non-center on the roster outside of Giannis.

Muhammad is by no means the best defender or rebounder in the world, but in his brief time with the Bucks he showed he could be relied on for relentless, high-intensity minutes. Muhammad was playing for his NBA life in Milwaukee, and his numbers show much of that desperation paid off in a positive sense.