Nwora still has more to prove
Development can be measured in different ways. On paper, via the raw data, second-year Milwaukee Bucks wing Jordan Nwora already has taken steps forward from his rookie season.
He’s played in nearly as many games as he did all last season and he’s averaging nearly 10 more minutes of action. With the increased time, he’s averaging more points (8.1), rebounds (4.2) and assists (1.1).
He reached double-figure scoring in 10 games, but more than that he’s challenged players going to the rim, he’s hustled for loose balls and rebounds, and he’s not as quick to shoot when on offense. It doesn’t mean it’s all been great, though. He’s had untimely turnovers, some defensive lapses and his shooting hasn’t been as sharp.
Nwora went from playing in the Bucks’ first 15 games to sitting in six of the next 12. He then started five straight as the team tried to overcome injury and illness from Dec. 15-23, averaging 33.2 minutes per game. His shooting improved (43% from the field and from the three-point line) and he nearly averaged a double-double with 16.0 points and 9.4 rebounds in that stretch.
“It’s not the scoring,” Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday said of what he had seen from Nwora over that stretch. “I think it’s more the intangibles and even things that show up on the stat sheet. He’s been alright at getting back in transition and getting blocks at the rim, rebounding, I think defensively keeping his man in front him.
“I think for the most part it’s the effort that he shows. And when you show that effort, everybody sees it and feeds off of it.
“I just think him getting used to playing so many minutes and feeling what it’s like to be out there for what, 36 minutes – giving full effort for 36 minutes is huge.”
But how would Nwora judge his own progress?
“Success for me is – we’ll see when everybody’s back and if I’m playing,” he said simply. “That’s what success is going to be. If I’m playing when guys get back, then these past few games, that was a success. If not, then I got work to do still.”
But once the team came back to full force on Christmas Day, he did not play against Boston. He was inactive against Orlando on Tuesday.
Nwora wasn’t the only one. Veteran wing Rodney Hood also didn’t play the past two games. Veteran forward Semi Ojeleye also sat and Thanasis Antetokounmpo only picked up an end-ofgame minute against the Magic.
Of the 14 rostered players available for head coach Mike Budenholzer, nine can be considered “wings.” Budenholzer will have to figure out who plays, when they do and with whom, but he called them all important to the team.
“They all gotta play and it’s going to take all of ’em to get through a season and to be as good as we want to be,” he said.
Such is the life for a second-year, second-round draft pick on a championship-caliber team. The window for development is small.
So for Nwora, the work must continue behind the scenes.
“It’s different this year because this year I can play regular minutes, too,” he said. “Now it’s more just going out there and doing things that Bud wants to see to get me out there, getting rotation minutes in games where everybody is
playing.”
Healthy Bucks try to come together
Following the Bucks’ Christmas Day victory over the Boston Celtics – a game in which every player but Brook Lopez was healthy and available – Holiday noted just how different the game was for a team that had 16 of 17 rostered players unavailable at some point.
“It was weird,” Holiday said. “It literally went from seven to eight players to like 15. Felt like our layup lines was, I don’t know, it was hard to do layup lines because we didn’t have enough people. And now it’s crowded. It was weird. The locker room, man, it’s so much louder now with so many more people. But I’d rather have that than the seven or eight.”
Khris Middleton compared the depleted Bucks to an AAU team, noting how players were just showing up (or leaving) and the team was basically rolling the ball out to play. DeMarcus Cousins had said on Dec. 18 how different it was that he had participated in just one practice – the day he signed back on Nov. 30.
While Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer reminded that the team’s overall health and player availability can change in a moment’s notice, he too acknowledged it was nice to have everyone around and available. The team actually held two practices (Dec. 21 and 27) and, while spending the better part of five days in Orlando, players and staff participated in a couple of team-bonding activities.
“I think anytime you can get a little bit of practice in the NBA, it’s a good thing,” Budenholzer said. “I’m pleased to hear that they actually talked and considered practicing. NBA guys usually don’t want to do that too often, so we won’t overdo it. An occasional practice is great, just kind of sharpen up some things, talk about some things in a lessheated moment, less-competitive moment, those are always good.
“Anytime we have a chance to do something where the players are together and growing and bonding is a positive for us. To have everybody together as much as possible is something we really believe in.”