Milwaukee Bucks: 4 players stepping up in the face of injury

Ersan Ilyasova

Last but certainly not least, veteran Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova has been a fixture of consistency throughout the Bucks’ post-All-Star break stretc,h as well as with key contributors down due to injury.

The Turkish veteran has completely rebounded from a particularly hellish stretch and he’s given the Bucks a great blend of three-point shooting, savvy rebounding and solid defending, although the latter borders on not being aesthetically pleasing at times.

In fact, behind Brogdon, Ilyasova has been the Bucks’ second-most lethal marksman from three-point range as he’s hit on 44.4 percent of his 45 tries from that level of the floor since the All-Star break. Ilyasova’s all around value in his reserve role gives him the best net rating of any Bucks player since the break at +18.2 points per 100 possessions.

It’s also worth noting the palpable difference in the Bucks’ offensive rebounding production with and without Ilyasova on the floor as it’s the difference between the Bucks being the third-most prolific offensive rebounding team (30 percent) and the worst offensive rebounding team in the league at 22.8 percent.

He’ll always stand as the least sexy frontcourt reserve option when compared to the likes of the sharpshooting Mirotic, when he returns fully healthy, and the incredibly tantalizing D.J. Wilson, whose breakout campaign has admittedly lost some steam down the stretch.

But Ilyasova remains tried and true and it’s certainly very possible that the 31-year-old will have a playoff moment or two in the vein of what he did last season when with the Philadelphia 76ers.