Milwaukee Bucks Vs Boston Celtics At TD Garden" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sQRNx8GEdVjTpUP_aYyiiMC614E=/0x0:5184x2916/1920x1080/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71361589/1240706636.0.jpg" />
If Brook Lopez had his way, I don’t think he would’ve chosen having to get back surgery that kept him out for most of last year’s regular season as the way to clearly illustrate his value to Milwaukee Bucks fans. Alas, Lopez went through what seemed like a difficult rehab but came out the other side looking surprisingly spry for a mid-30’s center who had someone check on his spine just a few months earlier. He lands at fourth, just outside Milwaukee’s big three, in our latest Ranking the Roster poll.
I would consider myself a Brook supporter. After his injury, I remember stating on the Brew Hoop podcast that they wouldn’t win a title without him. I think that statement was probably true, although thankfully we never had to find out. He played in just 13 regular season and 12 playoff games for the team last year, but he was largely the same player that we’ve come to expect. His defensive presence allowed Bud to more easily deploy his preferred drop scheme, and freed up Giannis to roam more as a weakside help defender, thus avoiding the big man banging he’d been subject to most of the year.
The one change to Brook’s game that has evolved over his time with the Bucks is he’s shifting his shot locations closer to the basket. With 38% of his shots coming from three in the regular season, that’s his lowest mark since moving to the Midwest. That dropped down to just 25% in the postseason too, where he was ice cold going just 6-28 overall against the Bulls and Celts. I think Bud has done a better job of leveraging Brook’s capability as a scorer inside in the past few years, and I’m curious how exactly he’ll be deployed this upcoming year. If his 3-point frequency dips again, can he still viably mosh inside or work as a cutter off the Bucks other drivers? He’s never been an above average 3-point shooter, but nestling in around the 35% mark still should be enough for him to be a capable spacer in addition to muddling his way inside.
The real question for Brook is defensively, namely in how much Bud wants to continue committing to the drop scheme. It can be infuriating when teams are raining in threes, but I think the team overall has done a better job of bringing Lopez up to the level of the screen sooner in a contest. Sour tastes linger from the barrage the brought about their end in Game Seven against the Celts, but teams shot 8.3% worse at the rim in the postseason when Lopez was on the floor. (stats per Cleaning The Glass) And, as per usual, they shot a smaller percentage of their total shots within that area.
While Lopez’s benefits defensively have been consistent year over year, his viability as a switch defender are what may hinder his minutes as his career grows longer in the tooth. He’s capable situationally to my naked eye, but does Portis offer more in that space while also bringing more to the plate offensively? During last year’s regular season, for the first time in his career, opponents shot worse at the rim with Portis on the floor (2.2%, but it’s a start!). Is that the start of a trend, or an aberration? The team also had a better defensive rebounding percentage with Portis on the floor than off. Both of those are pivotal pieces of Lopez’s value. If Portis can replicate those numbers, does he offer more as a big man that possibly can switch better than Brook, shoot more and brings a bit more scoring punch?
With Lopez under contract for just this year and Portis inked to a pricey extension, that’ll certainly be an interesting question for the franchise in the years ahead. Still, Lopez demonstrated his value through his absence and when he returned last year, so I think I know where this poll will land.
And just like that, we’re nearly at the end of this exercise. We’re at perhaps the most intriguing vote of this entire endeavor, IMHO. Let’s see who y’all got at number three between.
