Milwaukee Bucks: 3 aspects Thon Maker needs to improve his game

3. Add more muscle

One of the biggest knocks on Maker when he entered the NBA was he was a very skinny 7’1″ player. At 216 pounds, Maker is not going to break too many scales. The problem is, playing the center position, he needs to be able to hold his own in the paint.

Unfortunately for Maker and the Bucks, he is not there yet. In their recent game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Maker was matched up against the 255-pound Steven Adams. The 40-pound differential was telling as Adams was able to have his way in the paint, collecting three offensive rebounds with ease.

Maker has to match up on centers like Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, Andre Drummond and Hassan Whiteside. All of these players are considerably larger and stronger than Maker. For the Bucks to compete with teams with strong centers, Maker has to continue to bulk up.

If he is not able to compete, second chance points are going to be a major factor for the Bucks to overcome if they want to win. Expect to see Antetokounmpo continue to collect high rebounding numbers until Maker can put on the required muscle.