Coming into this season everyone expected Malcolm Brogdon to be the Bucks’ starting point-guard. Expectations were for him to run the offense and facilitate Giannis, Khris, and eventually Jabari. After an incredible ROY campaign in the 16-17 season there was nothing but positivity surrounding #13 and his future as a Milwaukee Buck.
I don’t think it’s crazy to say we all envisioned him being a major piece on this team should it ever contend for a championship. His career trajectory changed slightly when Eric Bledsoe hit send on his infamous “I don’t wanna be here” tweet on October 22, 2017. This spurred a trade which landed Bledsoe in Milwaukee, and bumped Brogdon from the starting line-up.
2016-17: 10.2 PPG (45% FG, 40% 3PT, 86% FT) 2.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.1 SPG, 75 games, 28 starts
2017-18: 13.0 PPG (48% FG, 38% 3PT, 88% FT), 3.3 RPG, 3.2 APG, 0.9 SPG, 48 games, 20 starts
I felt like Malcolm handled his new role well. He’s always been incredibly mature and seems as though he really just wants to do whatever he can to help the team win. But, this had to be a difficult adjustment to make, especially considering how well he’d been playing before Bledsoe’s arrival, averaging 16 points, 2 boards, and 5 assists in 9 games.
Brogdon averaged 13/3/3 in December followed by 15/4/3 in January before suffering a hamstring injury on February 1st in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves that left him sidelined for all but two of the remaining regular season games.
The Bucks went on to lose their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics in 7 games. A series in which the home team won every game. Malcolm played a huge part in ensuring this matchup went the distance; most notably in Game 4 when he knocked down the go ahead 3 with 33.5 seconds on the clock.
While he did hit some clutch shots, his stat-line overall was pretty underwhelming; putting up 9 points, 3 boards, 2 assists in 27 minutes per game. One interesting thing to take note of was Brogdon’s re-insertion into the Bucks’ starting lineup. This happened for the first time in Game 3 of the series and continued through game 7 as it allowed the Bucks’ to come back from an 0-2 deficit.
I think Prunty made a great move here with Snell struggling to contribute on the offensive end. Even when Malcolm is having an off night he’s just a good presence to have out there on the court. There a lot of changes that could be made between now and October, but assuming Milwaukee doesn’t draft, sign, or trade for a 2-guard this off-season I think starting Brogdon alongside Bledsoe in the backcourt is a great option moving forward.
Some final thoughts… Even though this wasn’t the ideal sophomore season for Malcolm Brogdon he still took a step forward statistically. In my head, I still don’t know what the relationship between the Milwaukee Bucks and Eric Bledsoe looks like long-term so I still think Malcolm is the point-guard of the future, and honestly; I think the role he plays gives them a better outlook when paired with guys like Giannis and Khris. I
’ll post Malcolm’s exit interview below. He speaks about being injured, Coach Prunty stepping in mid-season, Giannis’ growth, Jabari’s future, and the disappointment of this season. One thing I liked hearing him say was that the team’s goal this year was the Eastern Conference Finals. While watching them fall short sucked, it’s nice to know they’re setting high expectations for themselves and it would be great to see Malcolm be a part of it when finally do make it.
