The Milwaukee Bucks are 7-3 in their last ten and are on a five-game win streak. A 34-17 record has them at second in the Eastern Conference, two games behind the Boston Celtics. With injuries to their frontcourt and not as much depth as they’d like to have, Brook Lopez has stepped up to play some extended minutes this season. Bobby Portis is still out and Serge Ibaka is finding a new home via trade. That has lead to Lopez having one of his best defensive seasons in his career.
Before coming to the Milwaukee Bucks, Lopez had one season in his career where he averaged at least 2.0 blocks per game. In three of his five seasons with the Bucks he’s averaged at least 2.0 blocks. His defensive intensity and effort changed when he came to Milwaukee.
With 120+ blocks this season, Lopez joined a list with some elite NBA talent. Wisconsin Sports Betting sites have the Bucks at (+750) to win the Finals this season.
5th block of the game for Brook!! pic.twitter.com/eRnrNb5QQF
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) February 1, 2023
Brook Lopez has the second-most blocks per game of any player this season
In the Bucks 124-115 win vs the Hornets last night, Lopez had 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 5 blocks. It was an off shooting night for him, but he made up for it with his incredible defensive effort vs Charlotte. With 126 blocks on the season, he became just the 13th player in league history to record 120+ blocks in 10 or more seasons. Here’s who he joins on that list.
- 16x – Tim Duncan
- 14x – Hakeem Olajuwon
- 13x – Kareem-Abdul Jabbar
- 12x – Dikembe Mutumbo
- 11x – Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing
- 10x – Brook Lopez, Marcus Camby, Larry Nance, Mark Eaton, Tree Rollins
When Lopez has five or more blocks in a game this season the team is 8-0 and that speaks to his defensive intensity and effort this season. Lopez took a decreased role playing just (22.9) minutes per game, but is at (30.4) per game this season. That is the first time he’s playing over 30 minutes per game since the 2015-16 season when he was still with the Nets.
This season he is also averaging a career-high (2.5) blocks per game and trials only Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton with (2.7) per game. He is also fourth in Bucks franchise history for most 5+ block games. The one thing Milwaukee is lacking this season is health and that is what’s holding them back to their full potential. They still have not had their full compliment of players on the floor together when they are all healthy.
