Milwaukee Bucks: The case for starting Bryn Forbes against Brooklyn Nets

Bryn Forbes is the perfect candidate to step into the Milwaukee Bucks’ starting lineup.

Forbes spent the majority of the regular season in the second unit by averaging 10 points per game on an efficient 47 percent shooting, but has risen to the moment in these playoffs. Against Miami, he poured in 15 points per game on a 53 percent clip, including four threes a game.

In fact, Forbes was responsible for 16 of the Bucks’ 53 threes, despite the fact that Milwaukee shot the same 3-point percentage against the Heat this year as they did during last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals series.

Few can hang with Forbes behind the arc. As the fourth most efficient 3-point shooter in the league, he is an integral part of the Bucks’ balanced attack. Milwaukee centers their offense around Giannis Antetokounmpo by using his enhanced playmaking to exploit packed paints, generating open looks for shooters like Forbes to finish off. The shooters space the floor well, making it challenging for opponents to cover both facets of the Bucks’ attack.

Commonly, defenses contain perimeter specialists by instructing their assignment to follow them around the court and never surrendering space. With Giannis on the court as well, this doesn’t work. Stopping the Greek Freak is a full personnel operation – defenses cannot afford to remove a player from their scheme against him.

As a result, teams cannot properly respect outside threats, leaving catch-and-shoot options open to prosper. In the bubble last year, however, Milwaukee’s shooters fell cold, all of which allowed the Heat to execute their paint-heavy counter without punishment. Let’s check out how that coverage worked this year:

Giannis initiates the offense from the top of the key and naturally receives tremendous attention. As soon as he threatens a drive, Miami builds a well-fortified wall. Three defenders line up in front of him, with their teammates acting as an emergency line of defense at the hoop.

Every Heat player has deprioritized their individual assignment to stop the Greek Freak, including Trevor Ariza, Forbes’ matchup. Our sniper has already buried four 3s in this game – it would be dangerous to give him any more ammunition. And yet, Ariza awards Forbes a healthy 15 feet of space. He knows he’s playing with fire here, but it doesn’t matter; forfeiting a lane to Giannis is even more dangerous, so he must let the shooter roam.

Once Forbes gets the rock, the 29-footer may as well be a layup – 3 points to Milwaukee. Our shooter fits so perfectly in the Bucks’ offense that it’s natural to ask: Why does he only play 19 minutes a game? Per NBA.com/stats, the Bucks had a 124.7 offensive rating in the 80 minutes Forbes was on the floor and the Bucks outscored Heat by a total 49 points over the course of the series.

Unfortunately, the answer lies on the other side of the ball for why Forbes’ minutes have been capped, more or less.