Milwaukee Bucks: Will Sterling Brown become a more consistent three-point shooter?

If Sterling Brown is to take a major leap in production for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018-19, his three-point shooting will need to be more consistent. Is it in play, though?

Due to the combination of his signs of rookie potential and his status as a prototypical modern NBA wing, it’s fair to say Milwaukee Bucks fans have high hopes for Sterling Brown.

Brown’s tenacious defense and rebounding, along with the versatility that makes him ideal for switching, means it’s nothing short of a guarantee that playing time and chances to contribute lie in wait for the 23-year-old in the upcoming season.

The question, though, is can Brown’s impact and play expand beyond that? If it can, he could quickly go from being a useful bench piece to an essential cog in Mike Budenholzer’s Milwaukee rotation.

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Summer League offered a glimpse of the Bucks’ current attempts to develop and expand Brown’s range of skills, as most notably he was tasked with creating for himself and others in spells as a lead ball-handler.

While adding a reliable base of skill in that department certainly wouldn’t hurt Brown, there can be little doubt about which element of the former SMU Mustang’s offensive game stands out as the most important for the long-term shape of his career.

Very simply, while Brown has all of the defensive ability and physical tools required to soak up wing minutes in 2018, he needs to be able knock down three-point looks at a high rate.

In his rookie campaign, Brown made just 32 of his 91 three-point attempts, equating to 35.2 percent from three-point range. That mark is by no means disastrous for a rookie adjusting to the NBA three-point line, but in Brown’s case there are a number of reasons why it represented a meaningful disappointment.

Firstly, one of the biggest sources of excitement and buzz following Brown’s drafting came in the form of what had been his elite shooting record under Larry Brown in college. Over 284 attempts, Brown averaged 45.1 percent from beyond the arc in his full four-year term at the NCAA level.

The eventual disappointment at Brown’s rookie three-point shooting performance is only further compounded by how well he started. By the time the All-Star break came around, Brown was shooting a very respectable 37.7 percent from three-point range, yet his overall average was dragged down as he made just 31.6 percent in his final 22 regular season games of the year.

To look on the positives, if nothing else, Brown’s shooting performance in the first half of his rookie season proved that he’s capable of knocking down those looks at the NBA level. His outstanding record over a four-year period at SMU eliminates any small sample size concerns when assessing his shooting touch too.

With a solid form and track record to build on, Brown should only go from strength to strength under the guidance of the new coaching staff. Mike Budenholzer will emphasize greater ball and player movement to produce higher quality looks, as well as giving the Bucks a green light to let fly from distance.

Beyond that, assistant coach Ben Sullivan developed a stellar reputation for his ability to help wing players to fine-tune and rework their shooting strokes during his time in Atlanta, and there’s no reason to suggest he can’t do the same with Milwaukee’s wings, including Brown.

With all things considered, there’s every reason to believe Brown’s shooting will improve in the new campaign, and if that plays out, he’ll only become an even more important piece of both the Bucks’ present and future.