There were plenty of eyes on soon-to-be sophomore Tyler Smith as the Milwaukee Bucks geared up for NBA Summer League. The young forward would be in the driver's seat to prove himself, but he has instead struggled mightily, especially with his perimeter shooting, where he is a vile 1-for-18 through three appearances.
Tyler Smith must turn the page for Bucks
Heading into the offseason, there were plenty of people proposing Tyler Smith see a larger role for the Bucks next season. That chatter has died down significantly since the team beefed up the depth in the frontcourt by signing Myles Turner and bringing back Bobby Portis and Jericho Sims, but a nice Summer League showing could have brought more attention onto him.
Instead, Smith's struggles have taken center stage. In 26.6 minutes per contest, he is averaging just 5.7 points while shooting 23.1 percent from the floor and 5.6 percent from the perimeter. That goes without mentioning his 2.3 personal fouls and two turnovers per game. It's been a rough one for the young forward, to say the least.
That's not to say Smith has been flat-out terrible in every regard. He is averaging 1.3 blocks per game in this small stretch, utilizing his height and length to deter opponents defensively.
Smith has just one more game to try and put something positive offensively on paper. This should be a game where he simply empties the clip. No one would be too upset if he fired double-digit 3-point attempts in an effort to get himself out of this slump. It would be a great time to see a few go through the net rather than ending Summer League on such a sour note.
Through it all, Smith has remained confident. He knows that perimeter shooting is arguably his best attribute and the one he needs to excel at to find a role at the NBA level. This certainly isn't the time to get rattled, and Smith knows that. It will be fascinating to see what kind of performance he can string together to finish off the NBA Summer League later this week.
Not even 21 years old yet, no one expects Tyler Smith to be a perfected product, and it's more than likely that he will spend another year primarily in the G League to work on his craft.
The Milwaukee Bucks will be back in action on Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls.
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