Has Jordan Nwora been put in the doghouse for the Milwaukee Bucks?

The Milwaukee Bucks have played zero games with their roster fully intact this season as players continue to be in and out of the lineup.

One such player includes Jordan Nwora, except unlike his teammates, the forward is not dealing with an injury or an illness, at least one that has not been made public. After seeing a key role in head coach Mike Budenholzer’s rotation for the first 14 games of the season, Nwora has played just seven and a half minutes over Milwaukee’s last three games, all of which came at once in the recent win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Nwora has not logged a single minute in consecutive wins over the OKC Thunder and Orlando Magic, which has been a head-scratching development after it seemed like he was a pivotal contributor early on.

Why has Jordan Nwora’s playing time plummeted over the past three games for the Milwaukee Bucks?

One variable that has lessened Nwora’s playing time has been the return of Khris Middleton, who returned for this three-game stretch after missing the previous eight due to COVID-19. Middleton is a massive piece to get reintegrated into the lineup, making less time available for Nwora.

Even with Middleton back on the floor, there should be minutes for Nwora off the bench, as the rotations Budenholzer has pieced together over these past three games have been odd. First off, Semi Ojeleye will continue to get his minutes for the Bucks. While his shooting has been abysmal, he has brought some solid defense to the floor, and Budenholzer loves that. Some will argue that Nwora would bring more to the table, but they each do different things.

Rather than arguing about Nwora and Ojeleye, it should be about Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Rodney Hood taking time from Nwora. With Ojeleye sidelined in Milwaukee’s 117-108 win over the Magic, Nwora seemed poised to get some playing time. Instead, Hood saw 17 minutes while Antetokounmpo played 14, and Nwora did not get any. No disrespect toward either of them, but Nwora should be getting those minutes.

Hood, once a solid wing scorer, has struggled to make much of an impact as he is averaging career worsts in points and field goal percentage this season. As for Antetokounmpo, he has established a role for himself off the bench as an energizer, but many could argue that Nwora deserves to see more minutes than him. It was strange to see these two playing over Nwora – who is presumably healthy – when there was a hole to fill as Ojeleye missed the game.

It is weird to see a player go from playing 20.2 minutes per game in 15 straight appearances to getting two straight DNPs. Nwora had been solid during his previous time in the rotation, putting up eight points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists on average. Although the sophomore forward clearly was far from a finished product, he was getting some valuable experience and showed potential as a second-unit scorer on this depleted roster. Considering Milwaukee’s bench is producing the 26th fewest points per game this season, Nwora certainly could carve out a role for himself due to his electric scoring ability.

Only time will tell if Nwora is in the doghouse for good or if Budenholzer will reintegrate him soon. Perhaps he will get some playing time in tonight’s rematch with the Magic.