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Milwaukee Bucks: The hidden offensive impact in adding Robin Lopez

By Jordan Treske

CHICAGO, IL - FEBRUARY 25: Robin Lopez #42 of the Chicago Bulls attempts a dunk during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 25, 2019 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - FEBRUARY 25: Robin Lopez #42 of the Chicago Bulls attempts a dunk during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 25, 2019 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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While we’ll have to wait and see how he fares as a shooting threat from three now that he’s joined the Milwaukee Bucks, the addition of veteran center Robin Lopez may be a signal they’re willing to diversify their offense next season.

After shuffling around with their center depth last season, the Milwaukee Bucks made it a priority this summer to secure that end of their roster in free agency. The target they identified was a familiar face, that being veteran center Robin Lopez.

Lopez stood as the first addition the Bucks made in free agency after they retained the majority of their core free agents, save for Malcolm Brogdon, who joined the Indiana Pacers via a sign-and-trade deal.

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Not only did the lure of joining a true championship contender appeal to the 31-year-old, but getting a solid payday at nearly $10 million over two years, the second containing a player option, was attractive enough to withstand reuniting with his brother Brook by all accounts.

Putting aside the hijinks that will certainly be a theme between the twin brothers next season, there’s real value in adding Robin from the Bucks’ perspective in an offensive sense, even if that may not be as clear to some.

Bucks general manager Jon Horst has presented plenty of optimism that Robin will be able to join his brother in letting it fly to maintain the team’s five-out system when he hits the floor. As much as the shooting experiment Lopez will experience will entice many, if not all Bucks fans over the course of next season, there’s a real benefit in bringing on the 11-year veteran that may provide a bit of a different look for the Bucks offensively.

Since Lopez has been in the NBA and developed into a starting-caliber big man across his various stops, he’s honed his skill set of being an adequate role playing center that’s well suited to the pick and roll game, given his size, strength and savviness in setting screens as a roll man.

Take last year, for example, as Lopez ranked 15th in producing 263 screen assists with the Bulls, which equated to 3.5 screen assists per game, per NBA.com/stats. That resulted in Lopez as well as various Bulls players producing 7.9 points per game based off of Lopez’s screen assists. That all played a large part in the Bulls and their crop of ball handlers running the ninth-highest amount of pick and rolls last season.

Conversely, the Bucks ran the third-fewest amount of pick and rolls throughout last year, ranking just ahead of the Golden State Warriors and the Philadelphia 76ers. Of course, that didn’t prevent them from standing fourth in offensive efficiency by year’s end, thanks to the three-point makeover that was a key theme throughout their 60-win season.

With that said, we saw the limitations of their free flowing offense when going against a tenacious defense like the Toronto Raptors showed during their faceoff in the Conference Finals series. Under the highest of pressures, the Bucks resorted to running the occasional pick and roll when their base offense didn’t open up the same looks they were accustomed to seeing during the regular season. Still, the Bucks posted the lowest frequency in running pick and rolls of all playoff teams throughout their postseason run last year.

Granted, the Bucks didn’t have a true roll man on their roster last year, with superstar and reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, being somewhat of an exception (the 24-year-old ranked in the 95th percentile last year in the times where he operated as a roll man in pick and rolls).

Even so, it was never really a feature throughout the Bucks’ high-powered offense and unfortunately, it only came into focus when it was far too late to salvage the Bucks’ staggering collapse against the Raptors.

All of that isn’t to say that will radically change with Lopez now in the fold and minutes will still be limited as he backs up his brother and may even be phased out on some nights in situations when the Bucks look to go small at the 5-spot between Antetokounmpo, Ersan Ilyasova and/or D.J. Wilson.

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But with the number of crafty ball handlers the Bucks possess, that dimension that Lopez brings may ultimately give the team a new look they didn’t have at their disposal last season.

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