As one of the oldest teams in the NBA over the past few years, the Milwaukee Bucks have lacked athleticism, explosiveness and youth.
This has hurt them mightily, as highlighted in last year's playoffs. Against a much younger and more energetic Indiana team, Milwaukee's veterans could hardly keep up. In a league where the youth and freak athletes are quickly starting to take over, the Bucks need to shore up their athletic ability if they want to avoid being left in the dust.
Ugly stat highlights Bucks' flaw
One statistic that captures how unathletic the Milwaukee Bucks were last season was highlighted on the recent episode of the Hoop Collective Podcast with ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Tim Bontempts and Tim MacMahon. They dove deep into the numbers and said that only two players on the roster had dunked the ball at least 25 times this past season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the team, no surprise there, and league in dunks with 251, but the next closest Buck was Brook Lopez at 42, which was tied for 83rd in the entire league. Behind Lopez was Bobby Portis, who totaled 22 dunks, which was tied for the 145th most in the association.
Outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks don't have a ton of athletes who rely heavily on dunks. Khris Middleton and Damian Lillard are smooth scorers, but they rely on their shooting. Lopez and Portis are both towering giants, so they will get an occasional dunk, but they are also primarily bigs who shoot the long ball. Pat Connaughton used to dunk often, but his athleticism has dipped.
While the new additions of Delon Wright, Taurean Prince and Gary Trent Jr. will all help in other ways, none of them bring much explosiveness to the roster in terms of dunking or athletic ability.
Help may already be on the Bucks roster
The Milwaukee Bucks need more explosiveness, and they need it fast with the current group aging. Thankfully, they have been stocking up on it over the past few years, and next season could be the perfect time to utilize it if head coach Doc Rivers goes against the grain and throws youth onto the floor more often than he is accustomed to doing.
Despite playing the 12th-most minutes of any Buck last season, 22-year-old Andre Jackson Jr. came in at fourth on the roster in dunks with 16. MarJon Beauchamp, who averaged the 11th-most minutes on the Bucks, ranked fifth. Though unpolished, the young players showed that they could help with their leaping ability, giving this team a spark in the dunking department.
Even outside of these two, the Bucks employ a handful of athletically gifted players. Chris Livingston, at 20 years old, is an athletic wing with a knack for throwing down eye-popping dunks. Draft selection AJ Johnson turned heads in the Summer League due to his speed and shiftiness, as did his fellow draft mate Tyler Smith with his athleticism at 6-foot-11.
Rivers should look to implement some youth into his veteran-oriented rotation this coming season to combat the opposing team's energy. He doesn't have to give them all time, but perhaps he could give Andre Jackson Jr. an extended look here and there, especially if he shows growth in his game from where he was a year ago, due to his jumping ability and limitless motor.
It would be a big change for Rivers to give Jackson minutes over an experienced veteran, but given how last year played out, it's time to get uncomfortable. Experience matters, but so does being able to stick with your matchup and showing some athletic burst, something a lot of the older players struggled to do last season.
None of this is to say that dunking is the ultimate key to winning a championship, but having athletes and players capable of providing a boost in transition with a dunk always helps, especially on a roster where not many players typically provide much help in that regard.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.