Milwaukee Bucks: Pat Connaughton has regained role and 3-point shot

By Jordan Treske | Mar 22, 2019

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - MARCH 17: Pat Connaughton #24 of the Milwaukee Bucks takes a shot during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Fiserv Forum on March 17, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Recent injuries to the Milwaukee Bucks’ backcourt depth have opened up playing time for Pat Connaughton and seeing consistent minutes has helped him to find his three-point stroke again.

With all of the injuries hitting the Milwaukee Bucks at the moment, it would be easy to mistake the team with a MASH unit.

The Bucks’ injury report has grown longer with seemingly each passing game, and significant injuries to Malcolm Brogdon and Nikola Mirotic have them down vital contributors as they look to close out the season by locking down the one-seed in the East, as well as having home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs.

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As much as it will be a hurdle to replicate what the Bucks lose in those sidelined for meaningful lengths of time, Brogdon in particular, the depth the Bucks amassed last summer and throughout the season gives them adequate options to hold them over in what’s left of the season.

In the case of Pat Connaughton, the opening up of minutes in the Bucks’ rotation has helped him to rediscover a critical element of his game in recent weeks.

After initially being in the team’s rotation for the first month-and-a-half of the season, the fourth-year guard’s promising start came to a halt midway through December, a month in which Connaughton hit just 14.3 percent of his 21 three-point attempts.

With Sterling Brown showing that he was capable of filling it up for the time being, Connaughton saw his place in head coach Mike Budenholzer’s rotation be relegated to the bench as the Bucks went on to take the league by storm.

Now with Brown having been on the shelf for most of the Bucks’ play after the All-Star break, as well as the other injuries that have struck the team’s backcourt depth, Connaughton has re-emerged brandishing a much more effective touch from downtown. In the Bucks’ 11 games throughout the month of March, Connaughton has regained his three-point specialist duties by knocking down 40.5 percent of his 37 tries from long range, which has fueled his 7.8 points per game over the span.

Being the rhythm shooter that he is rather than a deadeye marksman, getting a consistent run over the course of a given contest has helped the 26-year-old immensely in finding his shooting range after a lengthy inconsistent stretch.

In the 19 games in which he has seen the floor for 20-to-29 minutes, Connaughton is connecting on 37 percent of his attempts from three-point range, which is by far and away the highest three-point percentage he holds when his appearances are broken down in minute range splits.

For all the intangibles, athleticism and high IQ he brings to the Bucks on both ends of the floor, Connaughton’s inconsistent range shooting was the lone hitch that could be held up for why he had fallen out of favor, save for relief appearances here and there.

We’ve seen Coach Bud hold up the need for complementary shooting around the team’s core players in the cases of D.J. Wilson since the addition of Nikola Mirotic and, presumably Brown at the start of the year, given Connaughton and rookie Donte DiVincenzo‘s capable play at that point in the season.

Connaughton is no stranger to suffering through inconsistent shooting stretches and it’s very likely part of the reason his former club, the Portland Trail Blazers, cut ties with him just before free agency started, paving the way for him to come to Milwaukee.

Now with his shooting troubles ironed out for the moment, Connaughton will look to do his part in stabilizing the team’s play on both ends, considering the Bucks have been slightly outscored with the Massachusetts native on the floor by 1.1 points per 100 possessions since the All-Star break, per NBA.com/stats.

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Even as shorthanded as they are at the moment, the specter of the playoffs hangs over the play of every Bucks role player at this stage for the ones that aren’t guaranteed minutes on a nightly basis. As long as Connaughton can maintain his current shooting form and everything else remains up to snuff, he’ll work his way into the discussion for those minutes.

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