Joe Ingles-Brook Lopez Are Milwaukee Bucks Odd Couple

Much like Joe Ingles’ game, we should slow down and appreciate his work for the Milwaukee Bucks this season. His passing has been magnificent, as he’s found an equally sloth-like partner to team up with: Brook Lopez.

The duo is a fascinating case study, proving there are more ways to prosper in the NBA besides speed and athleticism. Both players are past their athletic primes (if they ever had such a thing) and have had to adapt their aging games to continue succeeding in the NBA at a high level.

A master manipulator, Ingles deceives defenses with ball fakes, eye contact and geometry to find passing lanes that didn’t seem to exist one second earlier.

Ingles receives a ball screen from his partner-in-crime near the Orlando Magic logo for the first component of a Spain pick-and-roll. While Lopez dives toward the rim, Khris Middleton pops out to the three-point line to complete the second part. Ingles stuns Orlando with a looking no-look pass: He stares down Lopez before winding up his left arm to make the defense think he’s throwing a no-look pass to Middleton at the top of the key. Orlando believes they’re all over this and the two defenders involved commit to popping out to the three-point line. Ingles, always one step ahead, anticipates this and whips the pass directly to the target he was staring at the entire time. A looking, no-looker.

Think of Patrick Mahomes in football. The pass isn’t initially available via traditional methods, so he has to get funky with it. That’s where the side pocket sling comes in handy, as he delivers it right on the money.

Lopez is the other part of the equation. He stays ready the entire time and is expecting the unexpected. After initially expecting the ball to be in Middleton’s hands up top, he realizes Ingles still has it and rotates to give his teammate a body to throw to. And what a body it is! At seven-feet tall, Lopez is finally being fully utilized down low with guys like Ingles passing him the rock.

More of Ingles’ assists this season have gone to Lopez than anyone else, as about a quarter of his passes to the seven-footer end up in a bucket. Following a little slip screen on the right wing, Ingles navigates toward the top of the key while Lopez dives toward the rim. Ingles’ expert reading of the defense allows him to anticipate the pass well before his teammates get anywhere close to the rim. I mean, check out when he decides to throw this lob. Gimme a break!

Mike Budenholzer recognizes their chemistry and pairs them as often as he can. Nearly half of Ingles’ minutes this season have come with Lopez on the floor. According to Cleaning the Glass, the duo has a 4.4 net rating (Milwaukee is +5.0 on the season) with a 116.9 offensive rating (the Bucks are at 115 as a team).

Most importantly, their half-court offense booms when they share the court. Milwaukee has struggled to score in a slower structure for years under Budenholzer, especially in the postseason. This pair offers some hope this year can be different—Their 104.3 offensive rating in the half-court is six points higher than the Bucks as a team and would rank third in the NBA.

It’s plays like this that make them special.

Lopez slips the screen on the left wing before thundering into the restricted area. Ingles follows him with his dribble on a concurrent path, as the two weakside defenders get sucked into the paint to deter the threat of a seven-foot behemoth scoring at point-blank range. Ingles looks up at the open Buck in the opposite corner and gives him a mild two-hand ball fake, sending the help defenders into a scramble to return where they came from. Then he slips a part underhand, part side arm scoop into the space he just created around Lopez at the rim for a bunny.

It’s unusual to see two old and slow dudes succeeding together in a league that’s built around speed, strength, and explosiveness. Yet, here we are.

This couple is only just beginning to scratch the surface of what they can accomplish together. The home stretch will be critical for them to continue establishing rapport and building on the solid foundation they’ve already laid.

Milwaukee willingly signed Ingles last summer with their only available salary cap tool knowing full well he was coming off a torn ACL. This is the reward they were willing to risk. Ingles’ facilitation in the half-court can provide a spark the Bucks’ need when the game slows down the most in the postseason. They’ve been ill-equipped to succeed in the half court during previous playoff runs, but now they have another weapon at their disposal.