Bucks have a growing AJ Green problem with 10 games left to solve it

AJ Green is running out of time to decode his shooting woes.

While providing little to compensate, he has made just 32 percent of his threes this month, a far cry from his usual perch in the 40s. The Milwaukee Bucks would love for him to finish on a high note, re-upping their confidence heading into Year 1 of the four-year, $45 million extension he signed last October. With just 10 games to go, Green had better get started. 

Green's shot has gone missing in the month of March

By the numbers, March has easily been his worst month of the season. He's scored in double figures only three times and twice been held without a point. Overall, Green is averaging 6.6 points per game, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.2 steals. He's responsible for a minus-8.6 in the nightly box score. 

Really, his slump dates back to the All-Star break, thus covering the end of February as well. Green entered the hiatus having scored 14-plus in five of six games. Since then, neither the accuracy nor the volume has been there. His season scoring average has ticked down to 9.5 points per game, while his field-goal percentage has dipped to 41.7.

Although Green was back in the lineup Wednesday in Portland, earlier this month, he lost his starting job for the first time all season. He has grown as an auxiliary playmaker this season, as well as a screener, but it can still be hard to keep him out there when his shot isn't falling. While he competes defensively, at 6-foot-4, he's a bit undersized to switch onto bigger wings or even larger two-guards. 

For Green, rediscovering his shot is the beginning, middle, and end of a successful conclusion to the season. 

Bucks need to see Green regain his stroke before the offseason

The Bucks affirmed their commitment to Green as a franchise cornerstone by granting him a lucrative extension last fall. He pairs well with Giannis Antetokounmpo as a lethal movement shooter, but even if Giannis leaves this summer, Green is valuable enough in himself to be a viable member of a young new core. For now, anyway, his place in the organization should be secure either way.

Milwaukee would still like to see him snap out of his current funk. Green's best months of the year were October-November. It's not unfair to say that his stroke hasn't been the same since returning from a shoulder injury in December. Since then, he has been shooting 36 percent beyond the arc. Before the injury, he was shooting 48.5 percent. 

Injury or not, of course, Green probably wasn't going to finish the year making nearly 50 percent of his threes. Negative regression was going to kick in at some point.  

On top of that, between inconsistent team play, Giannis injuries, and Doc Rivers' lineup shenanigans, Milwaukee has not provided a ripe environment for any slumping player to find his rhythm. Just ask Gary Trent Jr.  

Those are fine excuses, but Green also needs to fight his way through them. The Bucks have encouraged him to hunt his own shot all season. Even as his cold spell drags on, he'll have to keep putting it up to hopefully solve this thing before the shot clock expires on 2025-26.