After establishing himself as a focal point of the Milwaukee Bucks’ defense last year, Brook Lopez should aim to lead the league in blocks in 2019-20.
With their first game of the new NBA season just a day away, the Milwaukee Bucks can look forward to a campaign where they could have a number of individual players positioned among the league’s very best.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is a lock to be among the leaders when it comes to both points and rebounds. Eric Bledsoe is more than capable of finding himself in the race for the league’s steals leader. And even at 37 years of age, Kyle Korver stands out as an obvious candidate to be among the NBA’s leaders when it comes to three-point percentage.
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There’s another player and category worthy of consideration as a potential Bucks leader, though, and one that could yet prove to be the most realistic target of the bunch.
Of course, I’m talking about Brook Lopez, and his prospects of leading the league in blocks this season.
In his first season in Milwaukee, Brook thrived as the focal point of a significantly reworked Bucks defense, and one that finished the year as the league’s best in terms of defensive rating.
Designed to play to Lopez’s strengths, coach Mike Budenholzer employed a drop back scheme that saw Brook sag back toward the paint while defending the pick-and-roll, and essentially set the rest of the Bucks’ defenders up to funnel the action toward their rim-protecting big man.
Giannis would frequently weigh in to help out with his share of swatting shots, but it was Brook who built on the foundations he’d put in place as a shot blocker over the course of his career to that point, and ultimately ended up posting a career year in that category.
Averaging 2.2 blocks per game, Brook surpassed his previous high mark of 2.1 blocks per game, which was set during his sole All-Star campaign with the Brooklyn Nets back in 2012-13.
He also set a pace for rejections that very few of his peers could keep up with, as he finished the season ranked fourth in the NBA in terms of blocks per game.
Only Myles Turner, Mitchell Robinson, and Rudy Gobert could boast better blocks returns, and yet when measured by total blocks, Brook even came out ahead of Robinson and only trailed Gobert in second by eight blocks.
Turner’s mark of 2.7 blocks, and 20 more in total, wasn’t necessarily in reach for the 31-year-old, and yet only Hassan Whiteside, Anthony Davis, and Serge Ibaka have bettered Turner’s average from last year since the start of the 2010s.
Heading into the new season, a slight increase in blocks would likely be required if Brook wanted to find himself on the top of the NBA pile, but it wouldn’t necessarily take matching the tally that Turner posted 12 months ago.
It seems both realistic and attainable for Lopez to aim to improve to 2.5 blocks per game this year, and that may well have him there or thereabouts for the category leader at the end of the year.
If anything, one of the biggest obstacles standing in his way this year could be his own brother. Robin Lopez is also a prolific shot blocker, and his signing could lead to increased rest and reduced rejection opportunities for Brook.
Otherwise, though, Brook is facing up to another season in a scheme that he should now be considerably more comfortable in. It’s designed to allow his rim protection to shine, and the experience of last year should only have helped Brook’s judgement in that role to become more astute.
Giannis offers another formidable shot blocker, perhaps creating competition on his own team, but Brook Lopez certainly has what it takes to pace the NBA in blocks this year, if he sets his mind to it.