Milwaukee Bucks: 3 players catching fire at the perfect time
By Dalton Sell
Brook Lopez has been catching fire at the right time for the Milwaukee Bucks
Although Brook Lopez is currently enjoying one of the most efficient seasons of his career, the big man has been subject to justifiable criticism throughout the year.
However, he has been fantastic over his past four games by averaging 16 points on 56.4 percent shooting from the floor. Lopez has done a bulk of his scoring damage from inside the arc as he is shooting just 4-for-13 (30.8 percent) from 3-point territory in this stretch. While the floor spacing that he brings to the table is crucial when playing next to Antetokounmpo, seeing him get to the rim and knock down his shots is a welcoming sign when that outside shot will not fall.
Lopez has also done a fine job protecting the rim on the opposite side of the floor by tallying 1.5 blocks per game over his last four appearances. His defense has been an underrated part of the team’s success over the past three seasons, although it will be interesting to see how head coach Mike Budenholzer utilizes Lopez once the postseason rolls around.
The additions of Bobby Portis and P.J. Tucker to the frontcourt have made Lopez expendable in the rotation in various scenarios. Although having that much versatility to pick and choose from is not a bad problem to have, this recent surge from Lopez would be a massive boost for the Bucks heading into the playoffs. It would be a sizeable spark if the big man could just find some sustainability with his outside shooting within these final three games on the schedule.