Amir Coffey has yet to play much for the Bucks, but a recent injury to Kyle Kuzma may give him a great opportunity to prove himself. Kuzma suffered an ankle sprain in Milwaukee's victory on Friday against the Toronto Raptors, which is not expected to keep him sidelined for long but may limit him on the court. If Kuzma is hobbled at all, Coffey will likely have more playing time to prove his worth.
Amir Coffey can play a valuable role for the Bucks
In the game against the Raptors, one of the Bucks' biggest weaknesses became very clear. With three guards starting, the Bucks had a hard time matching up with the size of Toronto's starting unit. Small forward Brandon Ingram, in particular, was able to feast on smaller matchups and finished with an efficient 29 points.
Kuzma has provided good minutes off the bench thus far as a larger defender and efficient shot-taker. He's shooting 60 percent from the field over two games and committing to defense without forcing his own shot. But an injury to Kuzma is a tough blow to the Bucks' forward rotation.
Coffey is naturally the next man up and can provide the same strengths. At 6-foot-7 and 210lbs, he has the size to match up with larger perimeter players. And he can provide efficient offense in a spot-up role. Last season, Coffey had a career year for the Clippers and averaged nearly 10 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and a scorching 41 percent from three.
Coffey's long-distance shooting will be welcomed by the Bucks and fit right into the team's current strategy of surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo with shooters at every position. So far, the Bucks are top seven in the NBA in both 3-pointers attempted and made per game. Giving another potent shooter more minutes will only help those numbers and make the Bucks' offense more dangerous.
The Bucks signed Coffey late in the offseason with the hope that he would be able to give them valuable bench minutes. He survived multiple player cuts in training camp as he outperformed other fringe Bucks players to make the roster. But he's seen pretty scant minutes so far (13 against the Wizards and three against the Raptors) and has been unable to establish a rhythm.
Injuries are never a good thing, but Kuzma's ankle sprain can give the Bucks room to establish Amir Coffey in the rotation and see what he can provide. Coffey's contributions haven't been necessary so far, but he will surely have to play bigger minutes at some point in the long regular season. And now is the perfect time to start giving him some more playing time.