Shot Selection, Defense Will Be Key For Bucks’ Jordan Nwora

Jordan Nwora has an opportunity of a lifetime staring him straight in the face. The Milwaukee Bucks will be without Khris Middleton to begin the season and need somebody to fill his spot, the exact position Nwora happens to play.

Nwora started in the first preseason game and put together a mixed bag of individual results. He finished with 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 4 turnovers.

There’s no question he can score. At 6-foot-8, he has the height to shoot over smaller defenders and is springy enough to create the needed space via step-backs and other moves to get his shot off whenever he wants. He has no problem riding his own version of the tough-shot express. But just because he can get a look on most occasions, doesn’t mean he should, especially on this Bucks’ team.

Nwora gets tunnel vision with the rock in his hands far too often and forgets his teammates exist. He goes into full AAU mode and tries to take on the defense by his lonesome

If you play the bottom video, you’ll see a guy who doesn’t fully grasp his role in the Bucks’ offense. Milwaukee has the ball flowing nicely as it’s dropped deep into the paint to Sandro Mamukelashvili who quickly whips it to the corner where it’s promptly rotated to Nwora on the wing. That should be where the shot comes from. When Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo are healthy and thriving, they need a guy like Nwora to assume the catch-and-shoot role. When Nwora catches the pass, he’s wide open on the perimeter with plenty of space and opportunity to nail a three. Instead, he dribbles to the paint and straight into four Grizzlies defenders who swat the putrid shot attempt away.

Here is another example where his shot selection hurts him:

Nwora comes off a dribble handoff with Brook Lopez on the right free throw line extended. As he does so, he takes one dribble and rises into a pull-up immediately contested by two defenders. It may not be the sexy play, but he has to give the ball up to an open George Hill at the top of the key to continue running the offense with 10 seconds remaining on the shot clock. It’s safe to say the Bucks are unhappy with a contested long two.

He loves to create offense for him, and that’s okay! He just needs to figure out how to dial it back and fill his role in Milwaukee. The Bucks don’t need another guy to run the offense and take 15 shots a game. What they need is another floor-spacer who can knock down spot-up threes when defenses give too much attention to Antetokounmpo—something Nwora is perfectly capable of:

He’s shown some penchant for creating shots for others when the plays are simple enough to diagnose. Take the pick-and-roll game, for example. His ability to shoot off the bounce means the screener’s defender must come up to help, leaving his man potentially open on the backend. The only issue for Nwora is he sometimes struggles to anticipate where the help will come from and leads the roll-man into direct trouble.

Nwora was a restricted free agent this offseason. He only recently signed his qualifying offer, leading to a two-year, $5.8 million deal with Milwaukee.That gave the Bucks a 15th rostered player for the first time in years, signaling they have confidence and hope in their young wing.

Entering Year 3 with Mike Budenholzer and the Bucks, Nwora knows what is expected of him and what he needs to do to get on the court more often. Budenholzer recently told reporters, “Everybody’s gotta be able to defend at a high level. He’s gotta prove it now, every day in camp, and he’s off to a good start. That’s the challenge, really for everybody. Playing defense is not easy, whether you’re Jrue Holiday or Brook Lopez or Jordan. But it takes a mental toughness, a mental commitment to doing it. That’s the challenge for Jordan. That’s the challenge for really all of us.”

Nwora believes he’s figured it out, “All it is is effort and I think I just figured it out. I think I focus so much on trying to score. You know, my whole life I’ve been a scorer and I put so much effort into that end that I kind of, don’t forget about the defensive end, but, I just think it’s basketball, right?

“Here, with Bud, defense wins. I’m going to always be able to play offense. That’s something that luckily I’m talented enough, God gave me some abilities on that end of the floor. So it’s just competing on the defensive end. All it is is effort and heart. Just gotta be able to go out there and do it every day.”