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Where did the Milwaukee Bucks 3-point shooting go?

A strength last year that has disappeared early this season

Oct 31, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Tyler Herro (11) looks for a shot against Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) and guard Tyrese Proctor (24) in the second quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When it comes to shooting beyond the arc, the Milwaukee Bucks have not been shy to start the season. In their last game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, 51 of the 100 field goal attempts were 3-pointers. Milwaukee knocked down 17 of them and ended the night shooting 33% from the 3-point line, but with so many attempts, you'd like that percentage to be higher.

That has been the trend for the Bucks, as they have been living and dying by the 3 this season. Milwaukee ranks No. 4 in the NBA in 3-point attempts with 42.8 per game, and No. 6 in 3-point field goals made with 14.5 per game. However, that style hasn't exactly translated to success on the court.

Despite ranking high in attempts and makes, Milwaukee only ranks No. 21 in 3-point field goal percentage at 33.9% this year. It's an interesting start for the Bucks, especially after last season, when they excelled in that area. Milwaukee was a top 3-point shooting team last year, ranking No. 10 in attempts, No. 4 in makes and No. 2 in percentage.

After the Bucks parted ways with Giannis Antetokounmpo and got three players in Tyler Herro, Kasparas Jakučionis and Kel'el Ware, who all shot above 37% from the 3-point line last season from the trade, it looked like something that head coach Taylor Jenkins could build on.

While they've certainly embraced the aggressive shooting mindset, a lot of the shots have not been falling for the group. The Bucks have four players shooting over 40% who have appeared in at least three games, but there's a significant drop-off after Herro, AJ Green, Nate Ament and Jaime Jaquez Jr. for the rest of the team.

One of the players who have struggled has been veteran Myles Turner. Before this season, Turner shot 36.5% in his 11 seasons in the NBA, including 38.3% last year with Milwaukee. This season has been completely different, as he's only shot 19.2% from deep, including a three-game stretch where he went 0-for-10. However, the slow start has not affected the mindset of one of the best volume 3-point shooting centers in NBA history.

“I’ve been in this league for quite a long time. I've made 1,000-some 3-pointers; I have confidence I'll make 1,000 more," Turner said after the loss to the Cavaliers on Saturday. "I mean, I'm not gonna stop shooting because I miss a couple of shots, and I'd be remiss if I became a shadow of myself. So, the shots have to keep going up.”

His number is slightly off, but not by a wide margin, and the idea to keep shooting is the correct mindset. The Bucks have had open looks, but just haven't gotten them to fall, and when that happens during the games, it leads to stretches where the team goes ice cold, and the game gets away from them.

Against the Houston Rockets where Milwaukee lost by 32 points, the Bucks shot 12-for-41(29.25) from the 3-point line, Jenkins liked the looks they were getting for the most part.

"I love a lot of the looks that we're getting, some I want to eliminate, some of the early clock ones, the no pass shots, we're one of the top 10 teams in shot quality right now but bottom 10 in efficiency... our assists early in the season were great but it's been down the last few games... nature of the early part of the season."

Milwaukee has taken on a heavy 3-point shooting mentality, and even with a high number of makes, the Bucks have gone through stretches during games where the team has failed to make shots beyond the arc, putting them in a hole for the majority of games.

If Milwaukee wants to turn this season around before it gets out of hand, it's going to have to start from downtown.

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