Milwaukee Bucks: 3 reasons for D.J. Augustin’s early struggles

D.J. Augustin has not exactly been the fit that the Milwaukee Bucks envisioned throughout his first 20 games of the season.

The 12-year veteran has struggled mightily to find his footing with Milwaukee by averaging just 5.9 points on a .360/.406/.952 slash line, 1.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. Considering the Bucks handed him a three-year, $21 million deal early on in free agency, Augustin has not lived up to expectations as their biggest signing thus far.

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Is there still time for him to turn things around? Of course. The Bucks recently crossed over the quarter-way mark of the season, and there is still a long road ahead to turn things around for the veteran guard.

However, there are several areas that he will have to improve to find his nice with Milwaukee and become the backup point guard they were hoping for. With that in mind, here are three reasons for D.J. Augustin’s early struggles.

Milwaukee Bucks: Reason No.3 for D.J. Augustin’s struggles – Struggles from inside the arc

Since joining the Bucks, Augustin’s production offensively has been lopsided. From 3-point territory, he has been solid, shooting 40.6 percent on 3.2 attempts per game. That floor spacing has certainly been welcoming for the Bucks and their reliance on the long ball.

However, the guard has struggled mightily putting the ball in the basket from inside the arc as he’s shooting just 10-of-36 (27.8 percent) on such shots. It’s no better directly at the rim as Augustin has converted a 31.6 percent of his 19 attempts within the restricted area, per NBA.com/stats.

Looking at these numbers, one might conclude that Augustin has trouble from these short distances because he is undersized at the point guard position at his 5’11” size. However, that is not the case. Throughout his recent four-year run with the Orlando Magic, the guard shot 48.2 percent from inside the arc, though that trailed off over the last two seasons prior to coming to Milwaukee.

Right now, he is just struggling to get those particular shots to fall, and it has impacted his numbers on the offensive end drastically. While it is relatively easy to say that Augustin just needs to start hitting those close shots, it is the truth, plain and simple.