Pat Connaughton continued to shine on the perimeter
All the talk in this series is going to be about the Milwaukee Bucks “Big 3” but Pat Connaughton has been one of the most important players in this series. He has played the most minutes off-the-bench out of anyone in this NBA Finals series and he has been extremely productive for Milwaukee on the offensive-end of the floor.
Through five games in this series now, Pat Connaughton is averaging 11.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and is shooting 52.8% from the floor, 50% from three-point range. The most impressive parts of his stats in this Finals series though is the fact that he has 8 total offensive rebounds and he is shooting 15-30 from three-point range.
Connaughton has been everywhere for the Bucks on offense and the fact that he is creating second-chance opportunities as a 6’5” guard is remarkable. He has only been credited with eight offensive boards, but there have also been plenty of times where he went up high for a rebound and tapped the ball back to either Holiday or Middleton on the perimeter.
His ability to crash the offensive glass has been a huge key to success for the Bucks in this series and because of his contributions, they have outrebounded the Suns on the offensive glass 68-36 in this series. That is a huge differential in terms of offensive rebounding and Pat Connaughton has had his fingerprints all over this stat for the Bucks
Connaughton’s three-point shooting ability has also been on full display in this series and he is currently tied with Khris Middleton for the most three-pointers made (15) in this NBA Finals series. His 15-30 (50%) three-point shooting though is currently the best out of all players in this series.
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Everytime Pat Connaughton shoots the ball, it looks like it is going in and given how hot he has been against the Phoenix Suns, he is a big reason why the Bucks lead in this series and why they could potentially win their first title since 1971 on Tuesday night.
He may be a huge liability on the defensive-end of the floor, as Devin Booker and Chris Paul have looked to switch on him virtually every possession to drive downhill and score, but Pat Connaughton’s production on offense has been unmatched by any other bench player on the Suns in this series.
