Key to Unlocking the Milwaukee Bucks' Offense: "Bunnies"
Coming into the 2015-16 NBA season, many wondered if the Milwaukee Bucks' mid-range shooting would be an Achilles' heel for them once again. But the statistics from last season showed an even more disturbing trend on the offensive end.
The Bucks were one of the worst teams when it came to "bunnies," shots 0-3 feet from the hoop. That needs to change quickly.
Milwaukee shot 60.9% from that distance in 2014-15, placing them 23rd in the NBA from close range. League average was 62.8% last season. No matter how you slice it, that's leaving quite a few easy points out on the floor.
Thus far, while it's been a small sample of just 5 team games, the Bucks have been far worse. Following Wednesday's win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee sat dead last in hitting just 48.1% of their shots 0-3 feet from the basket so far this year. It's no coincidence the Bucks finished last season tied for 22nd in the league in scoring with 97.8 points per game. The three highest-scoring clubs last season ranked 1st, 2nd and 4th in field goal percentage from 0-3 feet away.
The good news is some of the worst culprits included Kenyon Martin, Zaza Pachulia, Larry Sanders and Brandon Knight - four guys not with the team anymore. The bad news is that three current Bucks - Tyler Ennis, Johnny O'Bryant and Michael Carter-Williams - all shot under 55% from in tight.
And if you think free agent newcomer Greg Monroe will be a big boost to their production from this range, you'd be sorely mistaken. Monroe is a career 62.1% shooter from 0-3 feet which would have put him in a tie for 7th on last year's Bucks. Better than the team average, but not a big enough impact.
Through the first 5 games this season (again, small sample), Monroe is hitting only 50% of those attempts.
On the flipside, the return of Jabari Parker should do wonders for Milwaukee's ability to score near the rim. In 25 games a year ago, Parker found the bottom of the net on a phenomenal 72.1% of those tries - best on the team.
It would be easy to predict guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton would be the ones to step up their games, particularly Giannis thanks to his length and athleticism. He was at 64.6% last season, already a strong number. Middleton finished at 62.1% - basically average.
In fairness, Milwaukee ranked even lower when it came to field goal attempts 3-10 feet from the basket a year ago. While they owned the 6th-lowest shooting percentage from that distance (35.2%), I'd still be more frustrated and concerned about being near the bottom of the NBA from less than 4 feet away.
It would be understandable to wonder if this is simply who they are and something the fans will have to tolerate. However, at this point it would be unfair to think "here we go again" with their struggles to score from so close.
Aside from playing just a few games, the Bucks have only had Parker and John Henson - another one of the team's more efficient inside scorers last year (64.4%).
As the season really gets going and the players find some rhythm, pay attention to how often the Bucks put down those bunnies, because it will likely go a long way in determining their fate in the end.