There's no denying how much of a sparkplug Taurean Prince was for the Milwaukee Bucks to start the 2024-25 NBA season.
During the first two months, the forward was statistically one of the league's best 3-point shooters, knocking down 54.2 percent of those shots. With shooting like that, Prince did a masterful job filling in for the injured Khris Middleton at the starting small forward spot. However, he hasn't been able to produce those same results in what has been a brutal shooting month of December.
Bucks' Taurean Prince was never going to stay THAT hot
In December, Prince's shooting has fallen off a cliff, as he's hit just 31.6 percent of his outside shots. He has five games this month where he's missed every 3-pointer taken in that contest. The forward had just two such games throughout October and November. Once a reliable marksman, Prince has had very little success this month, and it's limiting his impact mightily.
No one should have expected Taurean Prince to keep shooting above 50 percent from deep for the entire season; that number would inevitably dip at some point. Prince is still shooting a strong 46.4 percent from distance on the year, but if this recent trend continues, that number will only continue to plummet, which would be troublesome for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Milwaukee needs Prince to regain his shot. When he's hitting his triples with regularity like he was to start the year, it opens up the offense for the other stars due to spacing. When he's only hitting about 30 percent of these shots, the pressure on the stars gets turned up. Now serving as a member of the second unit, the Milwaukee Bucks need Prince's sweet shooting off the bench.
If Prince can get a grip on his shooting once again, he has the potential to be a Swiss Army Knife for this team due to his versatility and defensive stature. All of those attributes could make Prince a key piece for the Milwaukee Bucks in big moments. If the shooting struggles persist, it will only get harder and harder to have Taurean Prince on the floor when the team needs him the most.
Prince has shot 38 percent from downtown for his career, so he is certainly better than what he has put on tape this month, so Milwaukee Bucks fans hope this is only a blip.
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