Milwaukee Bucks: 3 eye-catching Jordan Nwora stats after 8 games
By Dalton Sell
Injuries have been a key factor for the Milwaukee Bucks to start the 2021-22 NBA season, forcing the reigning champs to utilize their depth nightly.
One player that has seen a prominent role in the regular rotation is Jordan Nwora. The sophomore forward is averaging 22.9 minutes per contest, which is certainly quite a leap compared to 9.1 per game during his rookie campaign. Although there have been some understandable growing pains, the forward is giving the Bucks some quality playing time off the bench. His teammates have been praising him early this season for his play, and everyone is expecting big things from him.
With all that being said, let us take a look at three stats from Nwora’s first eight games that are eye-catching.
Jordan Nwora has five blocked shots this season, the second-most on the Milwaukee Bucks
Nwora has never been known for his defense, but he has caught some attention in the early going this year due to his shot-blocking. The 6-foot-8 forward has blocked five shots for the Bucks after eight games, the second-most on the team behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo, who leads with a whopping 16 total. Safe to say that Nwora will not be catching the Greek Freak anytime soon, but this is promising to see throughout the first eight games.
Of course, Milwaukee’s size has been depleted to begin the season. Starting center Brook Lopez has appeared in just one game and Bobby Portis is still looking to find his footing after he missed time to begin the year as well. It makes sense that Antetokounmpo would lead by such a margin, but to see Nwora directly behind him on that list is interesting. He has the necessary size to be a great shot-blocker, and he is putting it to good use in the early going here.
Nwora’s shining moment came in Milwaukee’s season-opener against the Brooklyn Nets, where he challenged two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant and knocked away his shot. The sophomore is making highlight pages everywhere for his chase-down blocks, and it is welcoming to see him get in on the action defensively. Given how much the Bucks emphasize defense, Nwora needed to get better on that side of the basketball to carve out a steady role for himself, and he has done so to this point, although there is still room to improve.