Brandon Jennings Still Hasn't Found His Shot

Brandon Jennings was such an intriguing player when he entered into the NBA. He was the first player to try going overseas after graduating high school, avoiding having to attend college and entering the NBA draft after a rather disappointing season in Europe. Because he decided to skip college, he was branded as a knucklehead and many thought character issues would get in the way, preventing him from being a real star in the pros.

Jennings silenced all of those critics with an impressive rookie season. Though he was out-shined by fellow rookies Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry, Jennings was the only rookie drafted in the top 10 to make the playoffs as a starter, averaging 16 points and six assists on the season. In the post-season, without all-star caliber running mate Andrew Bogut at his side, Jennings upped his scoring to 18 points per game and nearly lead his undermanned Bucks squad to a first round upset over the Atlanta Hawks.

The problem with Jennings last season was with his lack of a shot. He was advanced defensively for such a young player and his playmaking skills were better than expected. But when it came to scoring the ball, Jennings was a mess for most of the year. After his impressive but overall hurtful 55-point performance against the Golden State Warriors, Jennings couldn't find a flow offensively and he ended the season shooting only 37% from the field and from three.

Jennings is still a good point guard in the NBA without a shot because of his contributions defensively and as a distributor, but to be more than slightly above average, he will need to have somewhat of an offensive repertoire. Brandon has shown improved offensive instincts this season when it comes to attacking the basket, converting 60% of his looks at the rim, but otherwise, this year has also been abysmal for Jennings from the field.

According to HoopData, Jennings is shooting just 23% from 16-23 feet so far this season and is converting shots between 10-15 feet an even lower 12.5% clip. Brandon hasn't been much better from deep, where he is shooting just 26% .

In the Bucks' most recent game against the Hornets, Jennings' inability to space the floor shone through as Andrew Bogut consistently found Brandon open on the perimeter but the confidence and effectiveness of his shot lacked until it was too late in the fourth quarter.

The Bucks' offense currently ranks as the second worst in the league behind the Minnesota Timberwolves scoring just 94.1 points per 100 possessions. Most of their offensive issues can be traced back to the lack of outside shooting and way too many isolation sets.

Most thought the Bucks were going to be one of the five best teams in their conference this season, including me, but their 2-4 start has been rather disheartening. If Jennings isn't going to develop a shot in the near future, then Milwaukee is going to have a rough go of things in the East. This team needs Jennings to start making his looks from outside, otherwise, the Bucks are a team that can't score the ball efficiently and will have to rely way too much on Andrew Bogut for easy buckets. And that's not something you want to put on the shoulders of a man that broke his arm and hand just a few months ago.