On April 1, Milwaukee Bucks big man Brook Lopez turned 37 years old. He is one of just 13 active NBA players who is 37 or older, and his 1,102 career games played is the 14th most of any active player.
He may be old, he may be slow, but Lopez is still making an impact.
Brook Lopez is playing tremendous basketball for the Bucks
That impact has especially been seen on the offensive end as of late. In 25 games since the All-Star break, Lopez is averaging 15.3 points on 59 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent from three.
A big reason for his success lately is that Lopez is doing a much better job of using his size to his advantage offensively. Instead of always hanging around the 3-point line, he is getting near the hoop more and finishing with layups, dunks or putbacks.
Lopez is shooting 72 percent from 2-point range since the All-Star break, which ranks third among 147 players with at least 100 attempts. His 88.7 field goal percentage at the rim during that span is number one among 127 players with at least 50 attempts.
Combine that with making his threes at a higher rate, and there has been a pretty large jump in his overall offensive production in the last month and a half.
Before All-Star | Since All-Star | |
|---|---|---|
PTS/G | 12.1 | 15.3 |
2P% | 59.2% | 72.0% |
3P% | 36.8% | 39.0% |
eFG% | 57.1% | 66.6% |
TS% | 59.3% | 69.2% |
Paint Points/G | 5.0 | 7.4 |
Rim FG% | 73.2% | 88.7% |
The Milwaukee Bucks have needed a boost in offensive production after trading Khris Middleton, losing Bobby Portis to suspension and losing Damian Lillard to injury. Lopez has definitely helped provide that boost.
With Brook Lopez on the court since the All-Star break, the Bucks have a 119.2 offensive rating, which would rank fifth in the NBA. With Lopez off the court, that number plummets to 107.7, which would rank 27th.
Although he has his limitations and can be a frustrating player at times, Lopez clearly still provides some value for a Milwaukee Bucks team that hasn't had any center depth during this stretch.
There is also reason to believe that this offense from Lopez could continue in the playoffs. In the last two years, Lopez has been quite effective scoring the ball in the postseason, averaging 18.3 points on 59 percent from the field and 43 percent from three.
Milwaukee will be getting Bobby Portis and Jericho Sims back for the playoffs, so Lopez won't have quite as much of a burden on him going forward. But if he can continue to provide this type of production, it could help the Milwaukee Bucks make a run in the Eastern Conference.