Milwaukee Bucks: 3 areas where D.J. Wilson needs to improve

Finishing at the rim

Having long been the biggest knock on Wilson dating back to his time in Ann Arbor, Wilson’s physicality concerns show up considerably when having to finish at or around the rim.

There’s no question that Wilson possesses the basic outline as a fluid finisher with great leaping ability. However, his inability to finish through contact, especially against more traditional centers, has hindered him greatly when either driving to the basket or looking to capitalize in pick-and-roll situations.

Per NBA.com/stats, Wilson converted 37-of-66 attempts in the restricted area over his 882 minutes of play as a sophomore last season, good for 56.1 percent. Despite going 19-of-27 from that area of the floor during garbage time minutes with the Bucks this season, Wilson went 13-for-23 at the basket (56.5 percent) with the Herd this season, via the G League’s stats database.

Whether it’s been at the NBA or G League level, Wilson has simply struggled to improve on his inconsistent finishing skills, which severely limit his ability to open up his role and even become a roll man in pick-and-rolls.

Given where the rest of his offensive skill set lies or not having one signature ability on that end of the floor, the full scope of Wilson’s game is hurt by that and almost certainly plays in the lack of minutes that have come his way over his third NBA season.

Even as the continuation of the Bucks’ 2019-20 season remains cloudy at this point in time, it’s hard to envision Wilson getting much time or reps to develop and questions will only grow louder regarding his future in Milwaukee.