Jordan Nwora Needs To Reduce Offensive Aggression To Increase Production

Milwaukee Bucks’ forward Jordan Nwora has supreme confidence in his ability to create his own shot from anywhere on the court. It’s that same confidence that has led to his biggest offensive shortcomings throughout his NBA career.

As Nwora caught a pass headed toward the right wing in semi-transition against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Bobby Portis was spotted-up in the right corner all by his lonesome with his hands up and ready to take the catch-and-shoot three. Only, the rock never came. Nwora attacked his man with a dribble toward the basket before shifting directions to the left and going behind his back into the lane. Meanwhile, Portis remained wide open in the same corner and Jrue Holiday, whom the initial pass came from, was pointing to the open man. Nwora was oblivious to all of this as he shot a step-back free throw line jumper that clanged off the front of the rim.

With Portis and Holiday in disbelief heading back to the other side of the court, it was clear they were unhappy with their teammate’s shot selection.

The Bucks tendered Nwora as a restricted free agent before the start of free agency, allowing them to match any offer he got from another team. With the two sides making little progress on an actual contract, Milwaukee allowed the forward the freedom to explore a deal with other teams, but nothing ever came of it. This led to the two sides agreeing to a two-year, $6.2 million contract right before training camp, an unnecessary raise on the part of the Bucks.

With Khris Middleton, Pat Connaughton and Joe Ingles out with injuries to begin the season, the third-year player had a huge opportunity laying directly in front of him. The Bucks would have no choice but to play him and see what he can do in extended minutes.

Defense was the talk of the town coming into the season, but it’s been his offense that has hurt his game the most.

Nwora is ice-cold to begin the season and is feeling the increasing pressure his slump has brought on. Heading into Monday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, he was shooting under 30 percent from the field and the three-point line—both career-lows. This led to his effective field goal percentage ranking 280th among the 284 players to play at least 15 minutes a game. His shot wasn’t working close to the rim either, as he also had the worst shooting percentage in the restricted area among the 214 players to take at least 19 attempts from that distance. Yuck.

The cold start is wearing on him and he’s forcing the issue more than ever before. He’s always had tunnel vision and sticky hands when it comes to swinging the rock on the perimeter, but he’s been more egregious than ever before. Far too often, he’s passing up his open teammate on the perimeter and trying to take the game into his own hands. This leads to difficult shots and turnovers, further frustrating his teammates.

The good news is he has the skills to become a capable offensive role player. First, he needs to stop being extra. Embrace the skills he does have. Sure, he can create some shots for himself, but it’s past time he lets that part go and embrace his spot-up place on the court.

He should let the other guys do the playmaking and focus on catch-and-shoot opportunities that come his way. That means fewer dribbles and more spacing the perimeter. That’s a mindset shift that can be difficult to implement on the fly, but his NBA career likely depends on it.

When Milwaukee is at full strength, there isn’t room for Nwora in the rotation. Middleton, Connaughton and Ingles will eat up all the minutes on the wing and at forward. Rookie MarJon Beauchamp is playing great and is clearly ahead of him in the rotation as well.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be other opportunities around the NBA landscape for Nwora. One of the primary reasons for the unnecessary pay increase from the Bucks was to match salary in any trade (presumably). Nwora may not have a lengthy Bucks’ career ahead of him, but he is auditioning for the other 29 teams every time he steps on the court. If he wants to prove he belongs, less is more.