Milwaukee Bucks: Brook Lopez Continuing to Progress

Over the course of the past few months, the news on Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez has been sporadic at best, with little pieces of news sprinkled here and there.

After the Bucks announced that Lopez had surgery on his back, the news of what the injury actually was had not been revealed until months afterwards. Lopez says he had surgery to repair a bulging disk in his lower back, which has caused him to not play since the first game of the regular season.

However, the news as of late has been positive as it appears that Lopez is starting to ramp up his basketball activities.

It was reported last Friday by Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Lopez is cleared to play 5-on-5 scrimmages and will start contact drills in practice. Coach Mike Budenholzer also said that Lopez might go to the Wisconsin Herd for extra work when needed.

It is also worth noting that Lopez appears to be getting shots up on the court before games now, something that seems to have just started recently.

The importance of Brook Lopez returning to the Milwaukee Bucks

The return of Lopez will be an important day for the Milwaukee Bucks for a couple of reasons. To start, although he will most likely not be a starter immediately, when Lopez does eventually return to the starting lineup it will push Bobby Portis to the bench.

This would be a great improvement as the Bucks are currently ranked 29th in the league in bench points per game. Having Portis return to the bench will give a huge jolt to the Bucks’ second unit that has struggled to produce points for much of the year.

The next reason that Lopez returning is so important to the Bucks is that he is the anchor of Milwaukee’s interior defense. His absence on the defensive side has been notable.

Last year, the Bucks allowed opponents to shoot 57.6% from the field within 6 feet of the basket, which was first in the league by nearly two percent. This year, that number has gone up to 62.4%, which is 15th in the league. Having Lopez to take up space in the paint will allow Giannis Antetokounmpo to resort to more of a help side defender role in the paint, which he excels at.

While there is still no timetable for his return, it does appear that Lopez could potentially return with enough time in the regular season to get prepared for the playoffs.

There is no telling how Lopez will look when he returns—whether he plays like the Brook Lopez of the last couple years or if he plays like a 7-footer who just had back surgery is yet to be seen. But just having Lopez return to the lineup will be a huge boost for this Milwaukee Bucks team.