Milwaukee Bucks : 5 Keys To Success In 2016-17
By Gary Gorski
Put The Ball In His Hands
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been known by a few names in his young career like “Alphabet” or “The Greek Freak,” but the most important name he should be called in 2016-17 is “point guard.”
Towering at 6’11” Antetokounmpo possesses not only a massive height advantage over most anyone who could defend him on the perimeter, but at 21 years old, also has the handles and court vision of a savvy NBA veteran point guard.
In his final 26 games this season as the point guard experiment took place, Antetokounmpo averaged a ridiculous stat line of 18.8 points, 7.5 assists, 8.4 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.5 steals per game all while committing only 2.8 turnovers. Only five players averaged more than 7.5 assists per game on the year : Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Chris Paul and Ricky Rubio. Of that group Rondo, Westbrook and Wall averaged around 4 turnovers per game.
Antetokounmpo at point guard comes with a host of benefits. Not only does he have great court vision to find teammates, but he also excels in getting to the basket. Over 68 percent of his shots came in the paint this season where he made 58 percent of them.
When smaller players are guarding him he can easily back them down, as he does early in the above video to Matthew Dellavedova. Taller, slower players have little chance of staying in front of him as he drives to the basket.
The only thing he is missing right now from being completely unstoppable is a reliable jump shot. Shooting 25 percent from three this season will only encourage defenders to sag on the perimeter and his 35 percent shooting on two-pointers outside the paint doesn’t sway that strategy. If he can develop a dependable jump shot defenders will be forced to respect him, which will only open up more drive opportunities and passing lanes.
The luxury of having a 6’11” point guard is not limited to offense either. With nearly a block and a half per game and 7.7 rebounds on average this year, Antetokounmpo has the potential to be a one-man wrecking crew starting on the defensive end.
Any rebound or blocked shot he corrals immediately can turn into a fast break. The fact that nobody has to wait for an outlet pass should allow the Milwaukee Bucks to turn up the pace and get a few much needed, easy buckets in transition. This is a huge area of improvement needed since the Bucks were 23rd in pace and 25th in points per game this season.
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