Milwaukee Bucks 2018-19 Season Review: Pat Connaughton
By Adam McGee
The worst of Connaughton
Connaughton works so hard when he gets on the court that picking out his weaknesses is not always that easy. That stands as a great testament to his attitude.
The combination of a great attitude and a high basketball IQ frequently allow Connaughton to outperform his ability on the defensive end, but at times he was certainly susceptible to being exposed by quicker, skilled guards.
There’s no real shame in that, but considering his size, Connaughton does naturally come up against some of the more skilled and lightning quick players in the NBA. On the nights when it wasn’t happening for him, his comparative deficiencies in those areas were clear for all to see.
More than occasional off-nights on defense, the biggest issue with Connaughton’s season was the hit-and-miss nature of his shooting.
In a Mike Budenholzer coached team, such a slump can prove very costly. Not only can missing open looks or, even worse, hesitating to take them take the team out of its rhythm, but it also leads to falling out of the rotation in a hurry.
Connaughton fell foul to that experience when a shooting slump relegated him from a steady role early in the season to logging frequent DNPs from December through to February. On that front, his shooting hit its nadir in December when in the six games he did see floor time, Connaughton managed to shoot just 14.3 percent from deep.
Thankfully for the Bucks, Connaughton rebounded to shoot 38.2 percent from deep after the All-Star break, but they could have done without his 28.8 percent before that. A new level of consistency on that front next season would change Connaughton’s overall impact for the better.