Protect the rim at a high level
Never renowned for his defensive services throughout his career, which obviously stems from concerns over his mobility and his plodding style, this could be the year where Lopez’s play on that end gets rightly recognized.
Of course, that hinges on the Bucks being able to turn around the defensive failings that defined the tenure of the previous coaching regime. Although the likes of Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Bledsoe will be leaned on to turn all of that around, Lopez can be a key cog within that equation.
After all, Lopez has been a steady shot blocker throughout his career and his overall presence protecting the paint and rim has gone unheralded.
Take his lone season with the Lakers as an example, as the Stanford alum registered a defended field goal percentage of 54.3 percent on shots attempted within six feet of the basket, which came in well under the average percentage Lopez’s teammates gave up within that range.
Add in how often Lopez was engaged in contesting shots within the arc and in general throughout last season and it feels fair to say that he looms large in the Bucks’ mission to beef up their interior defense.
There will be limitations that Lopez possesses that the Bucks will have to work around, and they could limit some of his outings when going against undesirable matchups throughout the year. How the Bucks, namely Budenholzer, goes about dealing with that when those hurdles surface will be very interesting to follow.