The Milwaukee Bucks have been rolling since the All-Star break, winning six of their last seven games following a 132-117 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
For the first time this season, the Bucks are now nine games above .500 and beginning to put wins together against the better teams in the league. As they sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 34-25 record, it has been the new additions of Kyle Kuzma, Kevin Porter Jr. and Jericho Sims that have made a difference.
Saturday's win was led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, but Brook Lopez was doing exactly what Bucks fans have been wanting to see from him all season. We know how much of a threat the center is from deep, but against the Houston Rockets, we saw moments where he was taking shots from multiple feet behind the 3-point line when there were much better options. On Saturday he wasn't so reliant on the 3-ball and was attacking the paint, reminiscent of his Brooklyn Nets days.
Bucks need Brook Lopez to be a paint threat along with his deep ball
It was one of Lopez's better performances of late thanks to his mindset of attacking the paint more with the Mavericks short-handed at center and continuing to keep opponents guessing. In his first seven seasons, he wasn't much of a threat from deep. Then, the game started to open up for him as he steadily developed a jumper.
In his seven seasons in Wisconsin, Lopez is shooting .356 from deep on around five attempts per game. Against the Mavericks, he scored 13 points, making 6-of-10 (60 percent) from the field and only shooting 1-of-3 (33.3 percent) from deep. It was back to an old school big man type of game for him. He has consistently played well on both ends and with his back to the basket.
Prior to Saturday, Lopez had three straight games shooting six or more 3-pointers, making just four of his 19 attempts. That's a measly .210 from deep. When he is feeling it from deep, it is great, but there are nights of him shooting something like 1-for-6 from beyond the arc, and the Milwaukee Bucks really don't want that.
Defenses will struggle more if Lopez keeps showing his ability to attack the paint. They then have to worry about him and Giannis and all the shooters. When he relies on the deep ball, it can be easy for defenses to let him take the shot, but it also makes it more difficult for his teammates, so the scoring at both levels is essential.
Kuzma has been a big help defensively for him thanks to his athleticism and Sims is really effective in his minutes replacing Lopez. It was a problem early on with the Bucks struggling and Lopez being exposed when dragged out to the perimeter to defend, but now, they are finding their way as a team and look much more resilient as a unit.
It is just one game from Lopez, but it is exactly what Bucks fans have been calling for. That threat from 3-point range is always needed, but if he can cut back ever so slightly and continue attacking the paint more, then it just gives the Milwaukee Bucks offense another layer.
The Mavs were short-handed at the five, but Milwaukee and Lopez spotted that and attacked it. Hopefully they can integrate it into other games and give opponents a multitude of things to worry about.
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