Milwaukee Bucks rookie Brayden Burries has wasted no time looking like a real problem, and the scary part is that he can still get a lot better. Under Coach Taylor Jenkins, the guard has been excellent from the jump, flashing the kind of all-around game that can turn a promising rookie into a full-blown star fast.
The one thing holding him back right now is the jumper. Burries is shooting just 20-of-57 on jump shots this season, which works out to 35.1 percent.
From deep, the numbers are even rougher: 8-of-36, or 22.2 percent. And yet he’s still putting up 10.5 points per game overall, a figure that has climbed to 13 since he moved into the starting five.
That promotion has only made the rest of his game stand out more. Burries has been a strong rebounder all season, and that has really popped since he entered the starting lineup at 8.3 boards per game.
He’s also shown he can move the ball with confidence and hold his own defensively against tough competition. Even with the shot not falling, he’s finding ways to score and stay productive.
If that jumper starts going down with any kind of consistency, the conversation around Burries changes in a hurry. He already looks like a two-way star in the making, and it’s still a little stunning that Milwaukee got him 10th overall in this past NBA Draft.
And this isn’t some case where the Bucks are waiting around for him to develop a shot from scratch. Burries already has one in his bag.
In his lone season at Arizona, the combo guard hit 39.1 percent of his 3-pointers on 4.6 attempts per game. That’s more than respectable, and if he can bring anything close to that level to the NBA, his numbers are only going to climb.
With all of the talented facilitators around him in the Bucks’ lineup, the path is there for Burries to keep rising. If the jumper catches up to the rest of his game, the leap to stardom could come even faster than anyone expected.
In Other News...
Bucks Just Lost A Frontcourt Option Fans Were Starting To Notice
Johni Broome had barely gotten his feet under him in Milwaukees system before another team made a move. After signing with the Bucks and appearing in two games for the Wisconsin Herd, the frontcourt prospect is headed to Minnesota on a two-way contract, a quick turn that says plenty about how closely teams are watching the G League for ready-made bigs.
Broome had been productive in his short run with the Herd, averaging 17.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, enough to make him one of the more noticeable names in Milwaukees developmental pipeline. Now the Bucks will keep sorting through other frontcourt options in their G League system, looking for the next player who can push for an NBA promotion before another club gets there first. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Rotation Decisions Are Raising Questions Milwaukee Cant Ignore
With a 1-10 start and the second-worst net rating in the NBA, the Bucks are already in the kind of early-season hole that forces every decision into the spotlight. New head coach Taylor Jenkins is trying to install new strategies and a new culture at the same time, but the roster built after the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade is looking increasingly like a group with structural issues that go beyond a slow start.
The rotation has become one of the clearest examples. Myles Turner has been getting significant minutes even as his shooting has lagged and questions about his effort have surfaced, while Kel'el Ware has flashed some defensive promise without finding much offensive rhythm or consistent playing time. For Milwaukee, the issue is no longer just about who is playing well on a given night. It is about whether the Bucks can settle on a lineup that actually makes sense before the season slips further away. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Suddenly Face One Huge Question In Gary Trent Jr. Case
The Bucks offseason business has taken on an unexpected layer of uncertainty as the NBA looks into how the team handled Gary Trent Jr.s contract. What had been a straightforward move from a minimum deal to a four-year, $64 million extension is now under review, putting Milwaukee in the middle of a cap-related investigation that has quickly become one of the leagues more serious side stories.
For the Bucks, the concern is bigger than just a paperwork issue. Media analysts have already raised the possibility of league discipline if Milwaukee is found to have crossed the line on cap circumvention, with potential punishment ranging from a suspension for general manager John Horst to the loss of draft picks. However this plays out, it has the chance to linger well beyond the current roster and shape how the franchise is viewed going forward. [Read more 🡒]