The 2021-22 NBA season is off to a wildly turbulent start as new players and coaches enter the health and safety protocols every hour. Despite the league-wide adversity, the end goal for teams like the Milwaukee Bucks remains bringing home another championship at the end of the season. The biggest question right now is if the league will get there as these issues continue to grow, but as long as the season is still going, the Bucks will be full steam ahead.
It is hard to assess the current state of the Bucks, considering they have so many players sidelined in with an injury or having entered the protocols. Yet, anyone who watches basketball understands that a full-heathy Milwaukee team is among the best in the league, if not the very best. They will be among the teams competing at the forefront of a title once the postseason rolls around, and if they will bring home the honors for the second straight season, there are several X-factors that will have to make an impact. With that said, let us look at three of them, as well as a bonus one.
Honorable mention: Brook Lopez will be an X-factor for the Milwaukee Bucks if he returns this season
Brook Lopez is an honorable mention here because there is an incredible amount of uncertainty revolving around his health. He has missed all but one game this season with back soreness, and he will not be returning anytime soon after recently undergoing a back procedure. Lopez’s return could certainly be an X-factor for the Bucks, but there is no guarantee that it will. A back surgery for a 33-year-old center is a tough pill to swallow, and there is no timetable on a potential return, although there is reportedly optimism within the organization that he could return this year.
If Lopez does make his return for at least the postseason, that will obviously be a massive boost for the Bucks. While Bobby Portis has been exceptional in the starting five and DeMarcus Cousins has been serviceable as his backup, neither player can quite fill the void left behind by Lopez. Few players in the NBA truly could, considering the 2019-20 All-Defensive honoree is among the best rim protectors playing today. This defensive excellence was on display throughout the title run in 2020-21, and the Bucks have clearly missed it this season. Getting their man in the middle back on the floor would bolster their title odds without question.
Rather than speculating about Lopez’s potential return just weeks after his surgery, we will focus on three players that will be on the court for the Bucks soon.
Jordan Nwora will be an X-factor for the Milwaukee Bucks this season
The Jordan Nwora experience during his second NBA season has been a roller coaster ride to this point. The forward started the season playing a meaningful role in the rotation only to seemingly be put in the doghouse and fall out of coach Mike Budenholzer’s favor. Mainly due to the constant bodies going in and out of the rotation due to injuries or protocols, Nwora’s minutes have started to vary on a nightly basis recently.
With the Bucks significantly banged up over their past three games, Nwora has started in these matchups, and he has undeniably taken advantage. In that span, he is averaging a double-double by scoring 19 points and hauling in 10 rebounds in 37.2 minutes per game. His offense has been stellar in this run as he is shooting 46 percent from the floor and 42.1 percent from behind the arc. Nwora’s numbers are up mainly because he has received more touches offensively with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, among others, all sidelined, but it is welcoming to see the 23-year-old play with confidence when called upon.
The Bucks will not ask Nwora to average a double-double when everyone is back in the fold, but can he be impactful enough to crack the rotation nightly? Their bench has struggled to score the basketball this season as they are 28th in points per game in 2021-22. Nwora, who is known for his scoring and shooting, should help in that regard, but he has struggled with consistency when he has gotten playing time this year. The sophomore could come out and score 15 one game and follow it up with an inefficient scoreless outing the next. Tie that in with his defensive lapses and tendency to turn the basketball over and it is hard to trust him out on the floor at times.
Sure, there are few championship contenders that will rely heavily on a second-year pro to help in their title chase. The forward is far from a finished product, and the Bucks have tried baptizing him by fire, which has produced mixed results. Yet, the potential is there front and center. If Nwora can get a grip on his inconsistencies with scoring and tighten up the turnovers while staying afloat on the defensive end, there is no reason he could not be a key piece for this second unit. He just has not managed to put all the pieces together, but hopefully he can because these last three games showed untapped potential for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Grayson Allen will be an X-factor for the Milwaukee Bucks this season
Grayson Allen certainly made a strong first impression with the Bucks. The guard started the year off red hot by scoring double-digits in his first seven consecutive games, showing that he could be a perfect fit in this starting lineup. Allen is thriving in Milwaukee as he is averaging career-highs in virtually every statistical category, but it has not been all smooth sailing.
Prior to a matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans on December 17, Allen had scored double-digit points in just two of his previous six games. He could not find a groove offensively, and many were starting to wonder whether it might be time to panic or at least consider the thought. However, he silenced those concerns in the game against the Pelicans by scoring 25 points while hitting seven 3-pointers, which tied a career-high. The Bucks were severely shorthanded in that matchup as the Bucks were without three starters in Antetokounmpo, Middleton, and Portis. Like Nwora, Allen’s best basketball tends to come when someone is missing because the opportunity is larger, but if he can keep knocking down 3-pointers, the Milwaukee Bucks become that much more lethal.
Right now, Allen currently ranks seventh in the NBA in made 3-pointers with 90 as he is shooting a career-best 41.7 from long range. A massive factor behind Allen’s success in Milwaukee simply revolves around how many open looks he gets. According to NBA.com/stats, Allen currently leads the NBA in “wide open” 3-point attempts with 147 on the season. For reference, the next closest player is Dorian Finney-Smith with 118. Due to the attention that Antetokounmpo commands when he possesses the basketball, Allen is able to get an array of wide-open looks nightly, and he is clearly taking advantage early on. These two have formed quite the connection offensively, and if they can keep it up throughout the regular season and into the playoffs, it will be special.
Look at what happened with Bryn Forbes last season. The guard was placed in this exact role on the floor, designated to be Antetokounmpo’s reliable perimeter shooter, and he pieced together a career year as well. In the postseason, Forbes had an immeasurable impact in the first round against the Miami Heat as he shot the lights out from distance and helped the Bucks convincingly sweep their rival. Allen is a better player than Forbes, and given how well he has played this year, there is no ceiling on the heights he could reach with this team. If he can keep shooting like he has all season, Allen will be a nightmare for opposing defenses in the postseason.
Donte DiVincenzo will be an X-factor for the Milwaukee Bucks this season
Obviously, Donte DiVincenzo did not play a key role for the Bucks in their championship run after he went down in Game 3 against the Heat. After undergoing season-ending ankle surgery, he was forced to miss the next three rounds. Six months later, the Bucks are still waiting for DiVincenzo to make his debut this season, and it looks like it will be coming soon.
DiVincenzo was initially cleared to return to the lineup on December 15 against the Indiana Pacers, but that hope faded when he entered the health and safety protocols. The guard is currently still in the protocols and there has been no timetable given at the time of this writing. Yet, it is reassuring to know that DiVincenzo’s ankle is healed and that he will be ready to return when he is cleared to exit the protocols. While it will be great to see him out on the floor, there are questions about just how he will look upon returning after his second season-ending surgery in three years.
Although there was some conversation before the season, it seems clear that DiVincenzo will not be reclaiming his spot in the starting five as Allen has played too well to be taken out. Instead, he will be eased back into things in a bench role. Everyone is curious to see if the guard can pick up where he left off before his injury last season. DiVincenzo put together a career year as a starter for the Bucks last season, averaging career-highs in several categories. Can he come back in and score, shoot, rebound, and defend at a high level? It may take some time to get him back up to speed, but he is more than capable. Inconsistency is something that DiVincenzo struggled with last season, but if he can put it all together in a contract year, he will be in good shape.
Having a player that is more than capable of being a starter coming off the bench will be a tremendous boost for the Milwaukee Bucks. He could be the ultimate difference-maker.