After crafting a pair of strong offensive performances that have been long overdue, can Milwaukee Bucks big man Brook Lopez turn around his shooting struggles that have plagued him this season?
The Milwaukee Bucks have finally reached the All-Star break and the question all Bucks fans are wondering is whether we’re finally seeing some signs of life from Brook Lopez on the offensive end.
Lopez is off the heels of some of his best offensive performances of the season after logging back-to-back 20-point performances from the Bucks’ previous pair of wins over the Orlando Magic and the Sacramento Kings. And undoubtedly the biggest feature in all of those games was Lopez’s 3-point shooting where he went 7-of-9 from that range over the Bucks’ victories, though he did follow that up with a 1-for-3 performance from long range in the team’s loss to the Pacers Wednesday night.
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To say such showings have been long awaited are an understatement as Lopez is currently on track to have the worst offensive campaign of his 12-year career by multiple standards.
By per-36 minute measures, Lopez is averaging 14.3 points this year, the lowest figure of his NBA career. And while Lopez’s 50.6 effective field goal percentage has slowly risen from career lows, his 53.7 true shooting percentage is the lowest number for Lopez for a fully healthy season.
Meanwhile, Lopez has steadily transformed into one of the league’s greatest defensive anchors over his time in Milwaukee and is enjoying a career year blocking 3.5 shots by those same standards. Only Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside is averaging more blocks per-36 minutes for players that have seen the floor for over 500 minutes this season.
The contrast of Lopez playing an integral role defensively while enduring through the least productive offensive season of his career has been remarkably lopsided, especially within a Bucks season that is tracking to be truly historic.
While the Bucks have been able to maintain their incredible offensive efficiency without Lopez’s consistent firepower, Lopez being able to knock down shots from the outside makes their offense that much more dangerous. And it’s an incredibly infectious experience to behold. just like head coach Mike Budenholzer told Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relayed following the Bucks’ win over the Magic:
"“For him, I think 5 for 5 from the three-point line, it just changes the game,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said of Lopez’s long-distance shooting. “Everybody knows he’s so capable of doing something like that. So, just happy for him. He works so hard and wants to be there for his teammates on both ends.“It’s fun when he gets hot and starts making threes.”"
And Bucks fans weren’t the only ones holding out hope for Lopez to turn in his trademark 3-point outbursts this deep into the season as Bucks starting point guard Eric Bledsoe said the same following last Saturday evening’s win:
"“We knew it was going to come,” point guard Eric Bledsoe said. “He shot the ball too well last year not to shoot it well again this year. It’s a long season, man. … We knew he was going to come along.”"
Lopez’s long range struggles can obviously be traced to his disappointing run at last year’s FIBA World Cup during his time playing for Team USA. Having to adjust to the FIBA 3-point line as well as his discomfort and overall inconsistency playing under legendary head coach Gregg Popovich has led to a precipitous drop in Lopez’s shooting from well beyond the 3-point line he’s been used to over the last few years.
Case in point, the Stanford product has connected on just 29.7 percent of his 192 3-point attempts taken between 25-29 feet this season. That’s down from the 35.5 percent clip he posted on those same looks last year.
The Bucks have sought out other ways to help Lopez get going on that side of the ball and his throwback game by turning his back to the basket more frequently than he’s been accustomed to recently has been the most effective outlet in that regard. And Lopez is tallying 1.12 points per post up possession, which ranks him in the 94th percentile of players in the league this season.
That’s certainly been a bright spot throughout a poor shooting season overall for Lopez, but Bucks fans will look towards his recent shooting performances as a beacon for hope as they continue to wait for a late season turnaround.