Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from Jrue Holiday’s appearance on JJ Redick’s podcast

Jrue Holiday praised Milwaukee Bucks teammate Brook Lopez for his two-way efforts

For better or worse, Brook Lopez is oftentimes regarded as the forgotten man for the Bucks.

Playing alongside stars like Antetokounmpo, Middleton and now Holiday certainly makes that more feasible with the spotlight primarily shifting towards them. However, as Holiday discussed in detail, the former All-Star is an underrated part of Milwaukee’s success on both ends of the floor:

"“Somebody to me who I think is a sleeper is Brook Lopez. I think people forgot that he was an All-Star back in the day… Brook decides to shoot threes, but he can still post up. And defensively, everything at the rim, going in there and trying to score on him is difficult. He’s still seven-feet, he’s still this big massive dude, it’s not like it’s easy.”"

Although Lopez has become increasingly more obsolete at times with Milwaukee’s ability to throw P.J. Tucker or Bobby Portis on the floor, Holiday certainly has a point about just how vital he can be. Defensively, the big man has manned the middle for each of the past two seasons and helping make Milwaukee’s defense the most formidable in the association with his hulking presence down low. From one former All-Defensive honoree to another, the praise is justifiable.

On the offensive end, Lopez continues to provide a solid dose of floor spacing by shooting 35.5 percent on 4.4 attempts per game this season. When that outside shot is dropping like it was in Milwaukee’s 124-117 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, he is at his best. However, as Holiday alluded to, the center’s biggest strength is arguably scoring closer to the basket, where he has always posed a formidable presence.

For what he brings to the table on both ends of the floor, Holiday is right in saying that Lopez is an underrated part of the Bucks’ success.