Milwaukee Bucks: Can Tony Snell diversify his offensive game?

It couldn’t be more clear what the Milwaukee Bucks want out of Tony Snell offensively, but is it possible for the 27-year-old to add other scoring elements to his game beyond his three-point shooting?

After a year in which he was cycled in and out of the Milwaukee Bucks’ starting lineup and suffered clear confidence issues shooting the ball by the end of the year, it’s all about starting fresh for Tony Snell heading into the 2018-19 NBA season.

We’ve covered throughout the offseason why Snell may have been among those who were most looking forward to the arrival of new head coach Mike Budenholzer and the rest of his staff, based on how last season ended for him in terms of where his role on the team was.

For a player who performs the simplest form of “3-and-D” duties, Snell’s struggles and occasional unwillingness to provide the former was certainly disconcerting to follow as last year wore on.

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The fact that a lack of patience was displayed by the Bucks’ previous coaching regime to help Snell move past his dips in form last season only compounded the issues surrounding the California native’s performance.

Being afforded a clean slate with Coach Bud in the mix will hopefully help Snell return back to the basics in whatever role he’ll be asked to serve for the upcoming campaign.

As imperative as it will be for Snell to hold his end up on that bargain, so to speak, could we see enhancements or an increased confidence in showcasing other areas of his offensive game?

It may seem like a stretch to some, considering both Snell’s low usage role (10.6 usage percentage for Snell last year, per Basketball-Reference.com) and his limited skills in creating scoring opportunities for himself and/or for others.

Any time Snell ventures inside the arc with the ball in his hands has certainly been an adventure as has been cataloged throughout two-plus years in Milwaukee.

For as much as that may be so to many, if not all Bucks fans, the numbers told a different story as it related to Snell’s attacking prowess, seeing that he converted 31 of his 62 scoring attempts driving to the rim last year, per Second Spectrum’s tracking data.

There’s a fine line between Snell having to flex his slashing muscles on a regular basis and being able to showcase that aspect of his game in the times when he’s run off the three-point line by opposing defenders. Nonetheless, it’s undoubtedly a useful skill to have in Snell’s arsenal when circumstances dictate it.

Of course, for Snell to maximize his driving abilities, he’ll have to improve his finishing touch near or directly at the basket. That comes after finishing 62 percent of his 79 attempts within the restricted area last year, per NBA.com/stats.

Again, this all stands as a secondary or even tertiary feature of Snell’s game, but with a little bolstering on his part, Snell may stand as a more respectable and effective threat in this regard.

All of this easily takes a back seat to the potential ways Snell can improve his three-point shooting abilities, given that Snell is pretty much an exclusive catch-and-shoot specialist.

That isn’t to say that we’ll soon be seeing Snell pulling up from beyond the arc regularly, but it will be interesting to see the potential ways Coach Bud may design to help generate quality looks for Snell, given how much of an emphasis the 49-year-old has already placed on spacing the floor at the start of this year’s training camp.

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Whatever the case may be, all Bucks fans will be hoping for an improved version of Snell throughout the coming campaign and should that go to plan, it’s possible we see glimpses of his game that we haven’t previously seen before throughout his time in Milwaukee.

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