Despite being two games under 0.500 back in the middle of November as well as all sorts of injuries and illnesses, things are going relatively well for the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks at the moment.
They’re slowly getting healthier (although we await to hear the latest on Khris Middleton), including the return of Donte DiVincenzo this week, a few players have returned to form, and there are a handful of guys who are playing better than expected this season as well, which has helped lead the turnaround of the season.
On the other hand, there are still a few players that have underwhelmed this season relative to the expectations that were placed on them. That being said, we’re only just over 30 percent of the way through the season and there’s more than enough time for each of these guys to turn things around (and at least one likely will).
Jordan Nwora has underwhelmed for the Milwaukee Bucks so far this season
The apple of almost every Bucks fan’s eye this preseason, Jordan Nwora was primed to have a breakout sophomore season and crack the rotation.
Following a strong performance in the Olympics that included a 30-point game for Nigeria, he had a rough Summer League but that was chalked up to fatigue from the Olympics. He got some rest, returned for preseason, and put on a show. In five preseason games, Nwora averaged 17.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists with a 54.5 percent true shooting.
It was a nice start for the 23-year-old and put fans on notice that he should be someone to keep an eye on. The opportunity was there for him with both Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeleye missing the beginning of the season with various injuries.
Nwora averaged over 21 minutes in his first 14 games but was only able to average 8.6 points on 50 percent true shooting. His two biggest games were the opening game of the season against the Brooklyn Nets (15 points, a huge block on Kevin Durant) and then against Detroit (season-high 16 points).
Since then, Nwora has played in nine of the Bucks 15 games and averaged under 10 minutes and 3.0 points per game.
There are some positives for him, like that he is shooting over 40 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s so there’s still a role available for him now that both Ojeleye and Wesley Matthews are out of the lineup. For now, though, Nwora has been a bit of a disappointment for the Bucks.