Can this old dog learn some new tricks?
It’s time to address the elephant in the room. I want to discuss Giannis Antetokounmpo and whether his style of play is truly conducive to winning at the highest level on this team. Sometimes, I feel myself being blinded by his extraterrestrial talent, and I forget about the very worrying patterns in his game that have existed for most of his career—and have never been corrected, remarkably.
And before I go any further, I want to say that I’m writing this not to be some Giannis hater—precisely the opposite. I love Giannis. He’s the reason I support this team from another country, which is why it hurts that I think he is drastically short-changing his potential. The Bucks are now 1-3 with losses to the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets (gulp). They have many problems right now, and the biggest starts with their best player, which I focus on in this story. But make no mistake, I’m not saying Antetokounmpo is the only problem—far from it.
Let’s start here: no other team in the world has a Giannis-like player at their disposal—well, maybe the Spurs and Lakers, but that’s it. This means other teams must execute—move the ball, screen well, and play out of advantages—to win games. The Bucks have never had to do that; Antetokounmpo is a cheat code. He’s such a physical marvel that the team has never needed “good process” to get “good results.” Yes, you can pass him the ball on the block while everyone else stands around, and it doesn’t matter because he’ll just push two defenders out of the way and score. Yes, you can run an inverted pick-and-roll and not pass the ball once, and he’ll wiggle through and score.
These plays are comfort food for Giannis. He likes to feel the ball in his hands and be the one making the decisions—he has been doing it for years. At the same time, we’re seeing teams get better at guarding these plays. Too many Antetokounmpo catches on the left block end up with him caught underneath the basket with two and a half defenders draped over him. Too many inverted pick-and-rolls now end up with Giannis dribbling the ball for fourteen seconds. These sets are getting stale. NBA basketball is a game of movement, not isolation. Rarely do teams go possessions with just one or two passes anymore. It’s time Milwaukee followed suit, because this can’t be a fun way to play:
We can admit that Antetokounmpo has developed bad habits that wouldn’t be acceptable if he were an average player—which is a bad sign from your franchise leader. He’s become a guy who appears to play by his own rules. Let’s start basic. What is the fascination with isolation mid-range jumpers and dribble-up threes? He has never been, and never will be, an efficient outside shooter. What about his habit of not boxing out when rebounding? Or the over-dribbling outside the three-point line as defenders stare? What’s with the apparent aversion to setting solid picks? He also falls asleep off-ball defensively a fair amount. We can even look at general game smarts. I referenced the secondary assists above; well here is a play against Philadelphia where the 76ers doubled Dame, Giannis got it on the short roll, and instead of passing to the wide-open Gary Trent Jr., he attacked the rim through multiple bodies. He never even looked at Trent. I mean, this is kind of a red flag to me.
Or we can look at the home opener against Chicago. AJ Green had hit two consecutive threes in the fourth quarter to inject some life into the team, and Giannis proceeded to take the next two shots, one of which was a dribble-up mid-range jumper from the top of the key. Is that the best shot they could have gotten? If anybody else had done this, they’d find themselves a seat on the bench.
Just my opinion, but if the goal is to win a championship, I do not believe they will do so with Antetokounmpo playing this way. So, what must happen for them to reach that goal? My answer is simple: get off the ball. Giannis must learn to play without the ball in his hands. In effect, I think he needs to play like a glorified Draymond Green. Can Antetokounmpo “cut the fat” and simplify his game? Let Dame and Khris initiate in the half-court. In semi-transition, set drag screens, create separation, and play off the advantage—If you set a good screen and don’t get the ball, someone else will get a quality shot. In full transition, do your thing. If you have a guard on you, post up. Take the obvious opportunities, of course.
I want Giannis to focus on making his teammates better and almost forget about scoring—it’ll come regardless. This might be wishful thinking; can you teach an old dog new tricks? But to me, it’s a simple “if, then” scenario. If his goal is to win at the highest level, then he will do what’s necessary to achieve that goal. Does Antetokounmpo genuinely want to win? Because if he does, I do not see how shooting jumpers helps with that. Why is he seemingly unwilling to set better screens (although I will say he was better against Boston)? What about his offseason film habits? How is he in year twelve with that amount of talent but somehow often unable to make basic plays out of the short roll?
Let me ask this question about two players with players with similar weaknesses: who contributes more to winning with the tools at their disposal: Giannis Antetokounmpo or Draymond Green? I hate that I think the answer is Draymond Green (when he’s on the court, at least). Over his career, has Green taken bad shots he knows he has a low chance of making? For the most part, no. Has he sacrificed his body, year after year, setting excellent screens to get his teammates high-quality scoring opportunities? Yes. Has he learned how he can help his point guard by developing his short-roll game? Yes.
Now tell me why Antetokounmpo seemingly doesn’t want to do these things that would so clearly contribute to winning more than much of what he’s been doing. Picture Giannis as a roaming, seven-foot playmaker sprinting in and out of screening actions, creating chaos for the other team, and jumping out of the gym; Shooters are eating and motivated to defend; Lillard and Middleton are getting theirs; Antetokounmpo is averaging over ten assists per contest, and the bad parts of his game have been removed. Most importantly, the game has become easy for him. Easy on his body and easier on his mind. As he ages, this is the inevitable next step. Why not start now (shoutout to Brew Hoop’s Riley Feldmann, who has been on this point for a while)? Giannis could be a rich man’s Draymond Green, but does he really want to be? Or would he prefer to be a seven-foot point guard?
The point is this: winning on brute strength and talent is not enough. The NBA is too good. You must execute and make others better. And I’m sorry, but currently, Antetokounmpo doesn’t do that well enough. Look around. Teams win via execution. Gone are the days of isolation basketball. Boston, OKC, Dallas, Denver, Golden State… even the Redick Lakers, LOL! These teams execute well because their best players have high basketball IQs and commit to playing to their strengths. As this year goes on, I’m hoping the coaches get into Giannis’ ear about his responsibility on this team as its best player. Everyone knows what he can do individually, but can he make his teammates better? As the leader, I want to see Antetokounmpo give himself to the team, not because he can’t score 30 every night, but because it gives them the best chance to win.
Walk with me: what happens if Milwaukee combines its extraterrestrial talent with elite execution? What if they focus on doing the hard things well because they are playing for the guys beside them? Now we’re cooking with gas. In my heart of hearts, I still believe this team can win against anybody if everything clicks. But Giannis must put any ego he might have to the side and lead that charge. I’ll be the first to give him his plaudits if he does. If not, we might have to start considering how Brandin Podziemski looks playing in his home state. And honestly, that feels eerily soothing right now.