Milwaukee Bucks first-round draft pick MarJon Beauchamp should be somewhat of a major contributor to the team during his upcoming rookie season in 2022-23. Providing he earns and is awarded fairly decent regular season minutes and playing time, let’s examine and look at some realistic expectations for him.
Realistic expectations for MarJon Beauchamp in his rookie season for Milwaukee Bucks
Although Beauchamp brings a lot to the table as a rookie for the Milwaukee Bucks, he is still fairly raw and most likely won’t have a huge impact, especially come playoff time.
Before stepping foot on the court in his first NBA regular season game, Beauchamp is what he is right now – a long, athletic wing who has room to improve and grow, specifically on the defensive end of the floor.
He has great size for a switchable wing player that will most likely guard opposing two to four position players. For a player his size, he has very quick feet.
Although he plays fast, his screen navigation isn’t great at this point. This is one area that should improve quite a bit throughout the season and as his career progresses.
Beauchamp is a solid stationary catch and shoot player, specifically from the corner. This is somewhat surprising, considering he has a slower release.
He is average coming into the league on pull-up shots and contested shots. This is an area that shooting coach Josh Oppenheimer can work on with him to improve.
Getting bullied and bodied on post-ups in the paint is a result of a lack of core strength, which tends to be an issue with Beauchamp. This should all improve with the proper NBA conditioning program.
Coming from and playing in the G-League Ignite, Beauchamp wasn’t the #1 option on his team. That being said, he was still able to contribute and produce on both ends of the floor.
His handles are nowhere near NBA level yet and his vision requires major improvement. The fact that he shot well in the summer league, is not enough of a sample size to overlook his G-League stats.
Generally speaking, Beauchamp’s defensive skillset will hopefully be conducive to what the Milwaukee Bucks bring to the table on that end of the floor. He will quickly need to take advantage of and soak up all of the knowledge offered and taught by the coaching staff and his teammates.
He cannot ask for a better culture to immerse himself in, with the group of veterans who have a championship pedigree, than the Milwaukee Bucks. Who better to learn from on both ends of the floor than Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and Bobby Portis, among others.
Some realistic projections for Beauchamp’s rookie season are between 4 and 6 points per game, 3 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.3 blocks. Expect shooting splits along the lines of 40% FG, 32% 3PT, and 72% FT. Don’t be fooled, as these are respectable rookie numbers, and fans really cannot ask for a lot more.
Beauchamp is more of a long-term project than some fans might think or expect of him. To reiterate, he’s quite raw and more than likely won’t have much of an impact during his rookie season, especially in crunch time and in the playoffs.
It is important to keep in mind how many NBA first-round picks don’t pan out and don’t amount to much during their career. This isn’t to say this will be the case with Beauchamp, but nobody should ever have any expectations for a rookie.
Milwaukee Bucks fans should be excited to see a young, athletic rookie take the floor, even if it is in limited minutes. Only time will tell as to what he will provide and bring to the table.