Ersan Ilyasova: The Second Half Savior

By Peter Myhrer | Mar 27, 2015

Mar 20, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) driving to the basket against Brooklyn Nets forward Thaddeus Young (30) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /

Three things are certain in the life of a Bucks fan: death, taxes, and Ersan Ilyasova pump fakes.

Perhaps it was all of those pump fakes that made Herb Kohl fall in love with Ilyasova’s game, though. The former owner of the team was rumored to have made sure that the big man stayed in Milwaukee during the pair’s tenure together.

Source says the Bucks' asking price for Ersan Ilyasova is very high because owner Herb Kohl loves his game and thinks he could be a star.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) February 20, 2014

Some nights Bucks fans are grateful that Kohl kept the rainbow shooting stretch four in town. Other nights fans probably wish the Turkish power forward would pump fake his way right out of a Bucks jersey and into a different team’s colors. Thursday’s game against the Indiana Pacers was most certainly an example of the former.

In the two teams’ final meeting of the regular season, Ilyasova poured in a career high 34 points on 12-of-14 shooting – missing only his first and last shots of the game. The performance probably resulted in Senator Kohl taking full advantage of his unlimited texting plan with a multitude of “I told you so” texts being delivered.

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Ilyasova has been in the Bucks organization since 2006 when he was drafted in the second round as a teenager. Apart from a two year hiatus after his rookie season where he played in Europe, Milwaukee has been his basketball home.

Kohl of course is no longer the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, which begs the question: how much longer will Ersan Ilyasova be a Buck?

The answer to that may lie in Ilyasova’s hands as much as it does in GM John Hammond’s.

Ersan Ilyasova has a history of under-performing during the first few months of the season. The trade deadline rolls around each year and opposing team’s general managers see that his numbers are down and chalk it up to Ilyasova being past his prime. The 2015 NBA Trade Deadline came and went in the same fashion, with Ersan Ilyasova still in a Bucks uniform.

There’s a reason that his end of season numbers look as good as they do, however, despite the annual slow start. Simply put, the man knows how to finish strong.

If the NBA season were a race, it’d be a marathon and Ilyasova consistently manages to coast through the beginning stages before turning on the burners for the last few miles. He’s always going to end up in the middle of the pack, but he looks good in the context of the final stretch as he passes tired runner after tired runner with the energy he saved up.

The 2014-15 season has been no exception to this metaphor as his numbers have increased across the board since his week long break for the All-Star Game. This is natural given he is averaging 12 more minutes per game since the break, but it doesn’t explain the increase in his three point percentage.

Ilyasova is shooting the three ball at a 44.9 percent clip in the 18 games since the All-Star break, an increase from the 31.4 percent he shot in his first 30 games of the season.

Ilyasova is shooting the three ball at a 44.9 percent clip in the 18 games since the All-Star break, an increase from the 31.4 percent he shot in his first 30 games of the season. He’s managed to increase his success rate while at the same time increasing his shot volume. Post All-Star break he is taking 4.3 shots from behind the arc, nearly double his 2.3 attempts during the first half of the season.

Injuries derailed most of Ilyasova’s December and January numbers, but he didn’t have the excuse of health in past seasons to explain his poor start.

In the 2011-2012 season for example, Ilyasova shot an uninspiring 42.9 percent from the field the first half of the season. Then he shocked the league by shooting 55.2 percent the rest of the way including a ludicrous 50.8 percent mark from three.

Most shooters are streaky, I get that, but Ilyasova plays like he sees being streaky as a challenge. The nice part about him only being hot for one half of the season though is that he chooses the right half to be in the zone.

He manages to peak during the time that playoff basketball should be played which could be very useful as the young Bucks continues to grow and gain traction in the league.

It’s going to be a close call as to whether Ilyasova’s presence on the team and the Bucks contending for a championship will overlap. The 27-year-old has two years remaining on the five-year deal he signed in 2012 with the second year only being partially guaranteed.

Do you think Ersan Ilyasova will still be around when the Bucks start contending in the East? Or do you have a thought on why he plays so much better post All-Star break? If so, please leave a comment and let’s talk Bucks!

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