The worst of Lopez
Despite enjoying a career rebirth by becoming the most notable example of a traditional center adapting to new-age philosophies, Lopez wasn’t immune to off shooting nights over the course of the season and into the playoffs.
In fact, there were seven such nights during the season where Lopez failed to put down a single triple during a single game this year, the most notable outing coming during the Bucks’ home loss to the Phoenix Suns in late November where he went 0-of-12 from three.
Lopez’s shooting struggles carried over into the postseason and most notably during the Bucks’ second round series win against the Boston Celtics as he went 5-of-23 from long distance during the five-game tilt (21.7 percent).
The same sentiment could be applied to Lopez’s defensive services, which was obviously crucial to the team’s overall fortitude on that end. But on the nights when the Bucks went toe-to-toe with fellow shooting centers that can space the floor, Lopez’s defensive strongsuits were neutralized, though he did show plenty of moments being able to defend in space when switching.
Of course, though, those moments of inconsistency weren’t enough to blemish what had been a very strong year for Lopez on both ends of the floor.