Milwaukee Bucks: Ersan Ilyasova has never been better

The Milwaukee Bucks’ sage veteran forward, Ersan Ilyasova, has been a critical bench contributor all season long and he’s on track for the most efficient season of his NBA career.

A huge part of the Milwaukee Bucks’ success this 2019-20 season has been their depth contributors rising up in big moments, especially as they continue to battle the injury bug.

And there is no better example of that than the strong back-to-back spot starts veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova put together in place of sidelined superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Bucks’ pair of recent wins over the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic.

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Ilyasova thoroughly cleaned up against the Hawks and the Magic by putting up a pair of double-double showings and his scrappy fourth quarter heroics against Orlando were critical in the Bucks being able to fend off the Magic’s second half comeback push.

And it’s only been a continuing trend through what has been a red-hot month for the Turkish international.

Through his 13 appearances this month, Ilyasova is averaging 10.3 points on 51.5 percent shooting from the field and 17-of-33 from downtown (17-of-23 from the foul line), along with 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists over 18 minutes per contest.

And as a result of putting up such remarkable production and in an abbreviated role, the Bucks have mowed through opposition with Ilyasova on the floor as he holds a +25.4 net rating over his 235 minutes this month, per NBA.com/stats.

The 32-year-old’s incredible run in December has strengthened what is quickly becoming Ilyasova’s most efficient season as he’s posting 8.3 points per game on a .519/.392/.792 slash line, making for a 63.6 true shooting percentage. Ilyasova’s previous career-high true shooting percentage (57.7 percent) was set during the shortened 2011-12 season during his second Bucks stint.

Of course, it’s helped that Ilyasova has hit triples to the rate that he has this season and he’s hitting 42.9 percent of his 63 catch-and-shoot attempts from that range of the floor. That all has stemmed from his strong run playing for his native Turkey at this year’s FIBA World Cup that’s carried over into his ninth Bucks season.

And being able to hit threes from well beyond the 3-point line has been crucial to Ilyasova’s marksmanship where he’s connecting on 45.1 percent of his 51 shots taken from 25 to 29 feet this year.

For as well as Ilyasova has been able to regain his 3-point shooting stroke, he’s also been a far better finisher at the cup, given that he holds a 66.2 percent clip on his 65 attempts taken within the restricted area. The 12-year NBA veteran has routinely caught defenses sleeping this year and his movement off the ball has led to him putting down uncontested finishes at the cup.

That has helped Ilyasova rank in the 93rd percentile of players in the NBA on possessions where he’s attempted shots or finishes at the hoop and is doing so at 1.6 points per possession.

The latter mark has been at the center behind why Ilyasova has made a valuable impact on the Bucks this season as his savvy, cerebral play continues to shine brighter, even as his athletic and physical limitations decline further, given where he’s at in his career. But Ilyasova has long battled those concerns and his quick thinking and overall nose for the ball has helped him to create plays and scoring chances out of thin air as all Bucks fans have been well aware of.

This season, Ilyasova is pulling down misses from the opposition at the second-highest rate of his career as he’s snaring down 11.3 rebounds per 36 minutes. Creating second chance opportunities in traffic is also still second nature to the journeyman forward as he’s compiling 3.6 second chance points per 36 minutes and has a 77.5 contested offensive rebounding percentage this year.

Ilyasova is well aware of how his rebounding and hustle instincts can lift him even on a down shooting night as he talked about with Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel following the Bucks’ win over the Magic over the weekend:

"“This is part of my game to always kind of bring energy,” Ilyasova said. “Some nights, obviously, the ball’s not going to fall through the net and there’s different things you can offensively and defensively like get excellent position. Back in the day I used to get charges but now I get none. So, like I said, just try to crash the offensive glass, create extra offense for us.”"

And Ilyasova is right in that his charge taking ability has taken a backseat this season as he’s drawn nine total charges on opposing players, good for ninth in the NBA. Could his decline in charges and the uptick in intact noses have an effect in Ilyasova’s career-best season as far as his efficiency goes? (semi-kidding).

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In any event, Milwaukee and the Bucks have long been home for Ilyasova throughout his playing career and this year, he’s showing that more than ever.

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