Milwaukee Bucks: 5 musts for D.J. Wilson in crucial season

2. Shoot 50 percent from the field

The top 20 career shooting percentages in NBA history belong to players 6’10” or taller who played either power forward or center. There is a simple reason for this; traditional bigs don’t shoot outside the paint very often and are thus able to convert a higher percentage of their attempts.

As a rookie, D.J. Wilson shot a respectable 56.3 percent from the field. As a 6’10” power forward who got most of his opportunities in the paint, Wilson was expected to convert a high percentage of his attempts and he did not disappoint. However, over the next two seasons, his accuracy took a huge dip. In his second season, Wilson shot 41.4 percent from the field.

Last year he shot 39.4 percent. If he’s not able to turn this trend around, he’ll spend about as much time on the bench as one of Budenholzer’s assistants.

A big man with a reliable inside presence will convert around half his shots. This should be a primary focus for Wilson heading into the season. If he’s able to make 50 percent of his shots, players like Holiday or Antetokounmpo will feel much more comfortable dumping the ball off to him when defenses collapse on their penetration.