Milwaukee Bucks fans are used to the ups and downs of the Ersan Ilyasova experience at this point, but his recent upturn in form has coincided with a great team run.
For better and worse, there likely isn’t a player that Milwaukee Bucks fans know better than they do Ersan Ilyasova.
Ilyasova has effectively enjoyed three separate stints with the Bucks at this point, and with over 570 games between the regular season and playoffs combined, the Turkish forward is rapidly climbing the ranks in terms of the franchise’s all-time games played leaders.
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With that incredible familiarity, Bucks fans have long since become accustomed to the particularly streaky nature of Ilyasova’s game.
The 32-year-old’s play is often tied to extremes in a manner which is somewhat unusual for role players who manage to carve out lengthy NBA careers. Role players and specialists can often play with a high level of variance when forced into larger roles, but even when that hasn’t been the case for Ilyasova, as it certainly isn’t at present, he tends to be prone to bouts of feast or famine.
That was evident last season upon Ilyasova’s latest return to the Bucks as his play cratered to the point where he briefly fell out of his usually steady and meaningful spot in the rotation in January, before bouncing back with an exception strong run in February.
After starring for Turkey at the FIBA World Cup this offseason, and quite honestly surprising with his comfort in taking on as much responsibility in that setting as he did, Ilyasova may not have registered inconsistencies quite at the level of last season yet in this campaign, but there has been a far from smooth path for the veteran all the same.
Perhaps most interestingly, Ilyasova again seems to have bounced back almost immediately from a particularly poor spell by playing about as well as most could expect him to given his role and the current juncture in his career.
After a five-game run to start November where he shot below 50 percent from the field in each of those contests, and just 25 percent from the field, and a stretch that started during that spell and lasted beyond it of seven consecutive games without making a triple, Ilyasova has regained his touch over the Bucks’ last 10 games and been an important contributor to Milwaukee’s win streak as a result.
During that span, Ilyasova is averaging a very solid 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game, and doing so while shooting with an efficiency that is much better than simply solid.
Ilyasova has made 57.4 percent of his field goal attempts during that run, while also knocking down 50 percent of his shot attempts from behind the arc too.
These are the extremes of Ilyasova’s game that have made him such a divisive figure throughout his years with the Bucks, as there’s never too long to wait for the good or bad to come around for those inclined to make arguments in favor of or against the Turk’s value.
Ilyasova’s work on the glass, and ability to draw charges, allow him to make an impact even through those ups and downs, but when Ilyasova is shooting like he is at present it really is a tremendous bonus to the Bucks.
It would be too much to ask for Ilyasova to maintain his current form for a truly long and sustained period, but we can at least hope that his current form is something he’ll be able to replicate come April, May and June this season.