Four Things With Frank: The Bucks’ Offense, Cade Cunningham’s Finishing And More

Key Highlights

• • The Milwaukee Bucks are seventh in offensive rating and 12th in net rating
  • Cade Cunningham is shooting 51 percent at the rim, which ranks in the 15th percentile among wings, per Cleaning the Glass
  • Moritz Wagner leads the NBA in true shooting percentage at 70.9
  • Max Christie played a career-high 33 minutes in the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday

Welcome to “Four Things With Frank,” a column I intend to make a fairly frequent tradition in which I share a handful of NBA observations. Sometimes, I’ll touch on four things. Sometimes, it’ll be five. All that matters is maintaining the alliteration and conveying an assortment of NBA-related thoughts.

Not everything will be positive. Not everything will be negative. It might even be neutral, a mere highlighting of a trend without any firm positive or negative connotation. Hopefully, you all enjoy it or, at the very least, learn something from these pieces. Let’s get to it.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ Offense Is Sticky

When the Milwaukee Bucks traded for All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard shortly before the season began, the belief was that they were swapping the defensive juice Jrue Holiday provided for the seismic offensive pop Lillard could inject. For years, Milwaukee’s title hopes rested on a stingy, elite defense — the very identity that powered it to a ring in 2020-21. But after a pair of early playoff exits, part of which stemmed from Holiday’s inconsistent decision-making and scoring, the Bucks pivoted to land Lillard and embrace an offense-first vision.

Through one month, the experiment has gone fine. Milwaukee is 12-5 and one game behind the Boston Celtics for the top spot in the East. Despite a frigid start from deep, Lillard is averaging 25.6 points (60.1 percent true shooting) and 6.3 assists. Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to rampage through opponents, averaging 29.9 points (62.7 percent true shooting), 10.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks.

Yet the Bucks haven’t established themselves as a premier offense or even resembled one for lengthy stretches. They’re seventh in offensive rating, 21st in defensive rating and 12th in net rating. The offense is good, but certainly not any sort of juggernaut ready to torch defenses and fuel a championship right now. I see far too many possessions devoid of a clear purpose, reliant on the talents of Lillard, Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to counter any stagnation.

Bucks' offensive execution was really poor last night.

So many possessions without any sort of purpose where it looked like nobody understood their role or what was supposed to happen. pic.twitter.com/ANs9pe4MCc

— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) November 2, 2023

The Bucks' offense just leaves so much to be desired. Their scheme feels underwhelming. The offense needs to drive their title hopes as an elite unit and I've yet to get the sense it is. pic.twitter.com/xkPsg6M7XM

— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) November 23, 2023

Milwaukee has to be a flamethrowing offense to win it all. I do not trust the defense. Although it has been better since reverting to standard drop coverage against pick-and-rolls on Nov. 3 (13th in defensive rating over the past 13 games), the point-of-attack options and wing depth are shaky. Andre Jackson Jr. and MarJon Beauchamp feel crucial. They provide some much-needed  defense, size and range. That’s a bit concerning, given they’re first- and second-year players.

Fortunately for this group, it’s not even December. The Bucks have time to navigate these kinks, establish cohesion and find the optimal formula offensively. Starting from a top-10 baseline is not a bad place to be, particularly after so much turnover occurred during the summer. But they must make substantial progress over the next 4.5 months. This is not a dominant offense, and so many possessions these days are a stark reminder.

Moritz Wagner And The Orlando Magic’s Bench Brigade

On Friday afternoon, the Orlando Magic routed a shorthanded Celtics team, 113-96, to extend their winning streak to six games (it’s since moved to seven games). Leading the charge was Wagner, who notched a game- and season-high 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Wagner has appeared in each of the 12-5 Magic’s 17 games this season. He’s only failed to score in double-digits three times and is averaging 12.5 points on a league-best 70.9 percent true shooting.

As Orlando aims to snap its three-year playoff drought, Wagner has proven integral. He’s one of the NBA’s foremost backup centers piloting a delightfully fun, cohesive and good bench unit. Since joining the Magic, he’s cemented himself as an efficient complementary scorer, averaging 9.7 points on 62.7 percent true shooting across 2021-22 and 2022-23.

This year, he’s ascended to another level and formed a snazzy two-man game with Cole Anthony and Joe Ingles. Wagner is a rugged screener who embraces physicality, finishes with both hands and drives closeouts. He moves into space keenly off the ball, is drilling 36.7 percent of his triples and touts a nifty little low-block game with dexterous footwork.

When Wagner is joined by fellow reserves, Anthony, Gary Harris, Ingles, Jonathan Isaac, Orlando has outscored opponents by 13 points in 58 minutes. His play is a leading reason why.

Cade Cunningham’s Finishing Woes

Through 92 career NBA games, Cade Cunningham sports a true shooting percentage of 50.2 — nearly identical to this year’s 50.1 percent mark. That is bad. League average true shooting is currently 57.5 percent. According to Cleaning the Glass, he’s ranked in the 99th or 100th percentile every year for percentage of unassisted makes. He shoulders a monstrous creation burden. But it does not entirely absolve him of the glaring struggles he’s endured thus far.

There are plenty of factors at play here. He is comfortable shooting from all three levels, but has never been effective from deep (31.3 percent) or inside the arc (46.3 percent), despite that comfort. He rarely draws shooting fouls (.179 career free-throw rate). The Detroit Pistons’ floor-spacing constantly impedes on his driving lanes and room to maneuver.

Yet among the most prevalent problems for him is his dreadful finishing. His blend of size, pace and savvy screen usage help him generate tons of paint touches. They haven’t helped him convert that volume into steady production, though. As a rookie, his 58 percent clip at the rim ranked in the 28th percentile. Last season, in an abbreviated 12-game sample, he shot 54 percent (14th percentile). This year, he’s shooting 51 percent (15th percentile).

Cunningham rarely operates with force downhill. His final step is hesitant and timid. He does not explode off the ground. It leaves him susceptible to late rotations or being blocked, and doesn’t lend him the benefit of the doubt for potential foul calls. So many of his looks are daunting. That should not be the case for shots within such close range of the hoop.

Again, not all of this is Cunningham’s responsibility. The severe lack of space hamstrings how regularly he can mash the accelerator and commit to a hard, forceful drive. But improved spacing also won’t solve everything. He has not been merely a poor finisher. He is among the league’s least worst since being drafted in 2021. If he’s going to eventually emerge as an efficient scorer, he has to remedy these woes.

Max Christie Is Finding A Role

Despite Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura all being sidelined, the Lakers outlasted Cleveland, 121-115, on Saturday night. The upshot of those absences meant second-year wing Max Christie received a career-high 33 minutes, including down the stretch in closing time.

Over the past three games, the 20-year-old has played 81 minutes, started twice, and averaged 8.7 points (54.6 percent true shooting) and 2.3 assists. After knocking down 41.9 percent (26-of-62) of his long balls as a rookie, he’s struggled to the tune of 25 percent (6-of-24) this season. The hope for him and Los Angeles is he rediscovers that shooting stroke because the flashes in other areas are glowing.

Christie matched up with Donovan Mitchell on Saturday. Against the Dallas Mavericks days earlier, he wrangled with Kyrie Irving periodically. In both instances, he showcased intriguing point-of-attack chops. He’s an exceptionally fluid lateral mover and mirrors changes of directions with quick hips, though his slight frame can allow him to be pushed off of spots. His blend of defense, shooting and ancillary facilitating are enticing.

Whenever Vincent, Reddish, Vanderbilt and Hachimura return, Christie’s spot in the rotation may evaporate. But the outline of a highly useful role player who nets threes, bothers star scorers and offers playmaking value as a connective passer is easy to envision. The past few games have reinforced that.