NBA Stats Notebook: Lauding Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brook Lopez's offense

The Milwaukee Bucks clinched the top seed in the EasternConference playoffs Wednesday, but they had to do so withoutGiannis Antetokounmpo on the second night of a back-to-back.

No problem — Bobby Portis exploded for 27 points and 13rebounds, Jrue Holiday racked up 20 points and 15 assists, andBrook Lopez tossed in 26 points to handle the Chicago Bulls. Oneneat postgame statistic from ESPN's Kane Pitman caught my eye:

Brook Lopez now has 26 games with 20+ pointsthis season. He had 26 games with 20+ points across his first fourregular seasons in Milwaukee. He will be a DPOY finalist but hisscoring has wound back the clock during his age 35 season.

— Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) April 6, 2023

Lopez is putting up 15.9 points per game, his highest since hisAll-Star days with the Brooklyn Nets, at the most efficient scoringclip of his career. He's helped the Bucks retake the top of theconference while remaining square in the middle of the DefensivePlayer of the Year race.

The award's front-runner, Jaren Jackson Jr., has also quietlyascended on the offensive end. Jackson is averaging a career-high18.3 points per game (20.9 since the All-Star break) with acareer-best 58.5% two-point shooting clip. He dropped 40 inWednesday's overtime loss to the Pelicans and has helped theGrizzlies go 12-4 since March 9.

While the two bigs are duking it out for DPOY, their stepsforward as scorers have put each team in the championshipconversation.

Starting with Lopez, his output this season hasn't come withincreased touches. A cursory glance through PBP Stats' trackingdata shows the 35-year-old is hovering at similar rates in touchesand volume touch time relative to his entire Milwaukee tenure. Hislow 16.7% usage rate follows the same trend. But Lopez has receiveda significant green light; his mark of 11.5 field goal attempts pergame is the most in the last six years.

Those extra shots have been distributed relatively evenly acrossdifferent spots on the floor, but Lopez's paint presence is perhapsthe most notable change. Here's a look at his impact of scoringinside since joining the Bucks in 2018, using data from PBP Stats(scroll right to view full table on mobile):

YearTouches/100 poss.Paint touches/100 poss.Paint touches FG%At-Rim FGA/gameAt-Rim FG%2018-1959.62.865.3%1.875.5%2019-2057.55.261.7%2.566.9%2020-2149.47.070.3%2.774.4%2021-22*51.39.762.8%3.477.3%2022-2354.29.171.2%3.674.7%