You would be hard-pressed to script a worse Milwaukee Bucks debut outing for Semi Ojeleye in their loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. After dealing with injuries that held him out of the preseason and the first four games of the regular season, Ojeleye made his debut and promptly struggled, specifically on the offensive side.
I had high hopes for Ojeleye before the season (well, I still have high hopes for him, it was one game) that he could be somewhat of a replacement for P.J. Tucker as a defender against bigger wings while being relatively limited on offense, but it was a rough first game. Ojeleye went 0-of-5 from the field, all 3-point attempts, and even missed both free throws he attempted as well in his first 12 minutes as a Buck.
The concern for Ojeleye was always going to be if he could shoot the three consistently enough to stay in the lineup and if Wednesday night was any indication, then it could be a bumpy ride for those of us who believed in the 26-year-old.
Assessing Semi Ojeleye’s debut for the Milwaukee Bucks
Let’s start with the 0-of-5 performance because that’s what everyone will focus on. Four of his five misses came in about three minutes during the second quarter. There’s no real good way to spin that kind of shooting night, but let me try. There’s been a lot of negativity about Ojeleye after that game, so I’ll be the positive voice.
I’d say the good news is that they were all good looks and he didn’t force up a shot that wasn’t there for the most part. It would be a different story if he had a look but there was a better one a pass away, but he took the shots that were available and they were good clean looks.
I won’t go through each attempt, but let’s start with the first one.
It’s a good decision from Khris Middleton to kick out to Ojeleye, especially after drawing the help from Taurean Prince on his drive. This type of play is the exact thing that Ojeleye will need to convert if he’s going to stay in the rotation and make a difference. Defenders are going to sag off of him, especially when players like Middleton or Giannis Antetokounmpo have the ball, so it’s up to him to make them pay for doing so.
His next miss came on a similar play where Prince rotated from the corner to help on a Bobby Portis drive late in the shot clock. Portis kicked out to an open look in the left corner for Ojeleye and he missed short.
That was also something I noticed was all five of his misses were front rim. That could be a case where he doesn’t have his legs under him yet considering this is his first game action. It’s something I’ll be keeping an eye on in the next few games to see if he’s getting more lift on his jumper.
His third miss was also one I wanted to highlight because although it’s a tough miss on an open look for Ojeleye, I wonder how much can be put on him for it. The initial pass to George Hill is high and on the catch, it looks like he’s thinking about hitting Portis diving to the rim. But since the pass was high, he doesn’t trust it and then hits Ojeleye in the corner.
I’m not saying Hill is at fault or that Ojeleye is absolved of blame, but the pass was a beat late because the initial pass had to come in high. Ojeleye isn’t the first option there but if Hill hits him just a beat earlier, I wonder if that’s more in rhythm for Ojeleye. Still, gotta make the defense pay on that one.
Overall with his offensive performance, it’s a rough stat line but the looks were good and it’s only his first game with the team, including the preseason. Head coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game that he was happy with the looks Ojeleye got and that he kept shooting. He also added an offensive board that led to a foul, and then he missed both free throws, but still a good sign of him being active.
The fans in the arena sounded a little restless after Ojeleye’s fifth miss but he got them back on his side after a nice hustle play.
He has an eye on D’Angelo Russell while also keeping an eye on the man with the ball, so he doesn’t get taken off-guard when Russell tries to back cut. He gets his hand right in the passing lane, breaks it up, and then does a terrific job hustling to keep the ball alive. Also, a great job by Middleton on the much bigger Naz Reid to force the bad pass.
Those are the types of plays you’ll get from Ojeleye on the defensive end, that’s where he takes a lot of pride in his game. That’s also where he’ll endear himself most to fans is his effort and ability on the defensive end. However, plain and simple, he has to make shots to stay in the rotation and, to a much lesser extent, the good graces of fans.
I’d be surprised if we see another rough shooting performance like this from Ojeleye again this season, but maybe that’s just the optimist in me.