Milwaukee Bucks: Greg Monroe Progress Report

Nov 6, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd draws up a play for Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) against the New York Knicks during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. The Bucks defeated the Knicks 99-92. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

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Nov 19, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives against Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) in the fourth quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Defense

Unfortunately, as has been the story for Greg Monroe’s entire NBA career, there are two ends of the floor. Though Monroe provides a go-to option on the offensive end, his presence has taken a major toll on what was the league’s second stingiest defense last year.

This isn’t just on Monroe, but this example of his completely botched coverage perfectly exemplifies why the help defense has been…not great.

Individually, though Monroe is averaging 9.6 rebounds per game, he might be the worst rim protector in the league aside from Enes Kanter. According to NBA.com, he’s posted a defensive field goal percentage of 11.8 percent — meaning that opponents shoot 11.8 percent better from the field with Monroe guarding them than they normally would.

Opponents have been 8.5 percent more effective on shots from less than six feet with Monroe on them, and stretch-bigs have killed the Bucks — shooting a whopping 22.3 percent better on three-pointers when defended by him — since Kidd has tried to keep his new center as close to the basket as possible to minimize damage.

Unfortunately, the damage is still being done with Monroe “protecting” the basket, since he’s allowed 67.7 percent shooting on shots from less than six feet. That’s the second worst percentage among all centers who have defended at least 30 such shots, per NBA.com, trailing only Al Jefferson.

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