The misutilization of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s post-up game

Giannis Antetokounmpo is remarkably skilled, but the Milwaukee Bucks have failed to properly utilize his post game this season. Next season, that must change.

There’s a limit to how much you can reasonably expect from any one player. Giannis Antetokounmpo is pushing that limit this year for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks in points, rebounds and assists. He is the team’s most valuable defensive player. He is the reason they are virtually locked into a playoff spot.

For as much as Antetokounmpo gives the Bucks, he gets shockingly little in return. The coaching staff, specifically, has let Antetokounmpo down.

Former Bucks head coach Jason Kidd paid for that offense by adding “former” to his title. Interim head coach Joe Prunty will pay for it by never having “interim” removed.

Among the Bucks’ coaches’ transgressions is the misutilization of Antetokounmpo’s post-up game. Antetokounmpo is a high-volume post-up player, a member of a group of just 16 who have finished at least 200 post-up possessions this season.

Of those 16, only Jusuf Nurkic, Marc Gasol, Dwight Howard, Al Horford and Zach Randolph are less efficient than Antetokounmpo, who scores just 0.88 points per possession on post-ups. That’s three guys well into the back nines of their careers, an All-Star who’s a punch-line for his lack of scoring prowess and Jusuf Nurkic — not great.

Antetokounmpo is a 6’11” freak with the physique of a Greek god and Mr. Fantastic’s arms. He shouldn’t be in that group. Like with most things Bucks, though, Antetokounmpo’s lack of success on post-ups can be attributed more to the shortcomings of the rest of the organization than his own faults.

If I had to pick one word to describe the Bucks’ offense, it would be “stagnant.” At 283.5 per game, the Bucks average the seventh-fewest passes per game in the NBA, and that lack of ball movement is a great hindrance to Antetokounmpo’s post-up game:

Eric Bledsoe dumps the ball to Antetokounmpo at the foul line, where he faces up briefly before beginning to back down his man: one dribble, two dribbles, a contested fadeaway barely hits rim. It’s a terrible shot, but then again, Antetokounmpo didn’t have much of an option.

He could have kicked to an open-ish Bledsoe, but given Bledsoe’s deficiencies as a shooter, a contested 3 off his fingertips would have been no better a look. The larger problem, though, is that it feels as if the object of this play is to get this very look for Antetokounmpo.

There’s no off-ball movement, no cutting, no attempt to get shooters open. Instead, the Bucks are trying to generate this truly awful look for Antetokounmpo. More troublingly, even if a teammate had streaked toward the rim, it wouldn’t have worked. With John Henson on the floor, his defender, Tristan Thompson, can camp in the lane, waiting to swat away any attempts at the rim.

Theoretically, that impediment to off-ball movement during Antetokounmpo’s post-ups should be remedied by the presence of Thon Maker in Henson’s stead:

In practice, though, defenders do not fear Maker. Andre Iguodala, who’s guarding Maker, clogs the lane, not at all fearful that Maker will make him pay for sagging off. Antetokounmpo, in this case, hits the turnaround fadeaway, because he’s a 6’11” freak with the physique of a Greek god and Mr. Fantastic arms. That doesn’t make it a good shot.

To make Antetokounmpo’s post-ups worthwhile, the Bucks don’t need to overhaul their offense or roster, but rather take two simple steps: play Antetokounmpo at center and design his post-ups to create open looks for others.

Playing Antetokounmpo at center will resolve the spacing issues that plague the Bucks even with an ostensible stretch-5 in Maker out there. It will unclog the lane for cuts and give the Bucks options to punish double-teams and create threes.

When utilized better, Antetokounmpo’s post game can look far more like Al Horford’s than Kobe Bryant’s. Turnaround fadeaways are fun when they go, but that’s the catch: when they go in. Instead, the Bucks must use Antetokounmpo’s passing ability and gravity in the post the way the Boston Celtics use Horford’s:

Marcus Smart dumps the ball to Horford, but the goal of the play is not for Horford to dribble into a turnaround. As Smart completes the pass to Horford, Aron Baynes sets a screen on Terry Rozier’s on the weak side. Rozier runs into a decent look.

The Celtics run plays through Horford in the post designed to hit cutters as well:

As Horford begins to back down Henson, Marcus Smart screens and rescreens Kyrie Irving’s defender. The Bucks’ communication breaks down, no one picks up Irving and he picks up an easy two points. The Celtics sometimes get more creative, as Brad Stevens reaches into his bottomless bag of tricks:

Horford establishes position as Daniel Theis and Smart start to run what looks like a dribble-hand-off. However, Smart rejects Theis’ screen, tosses the ball to Horford, who finds a forgotten Theis darting to the rim for an easy two points and a foul.

The Celtics use Horford’s post-ups to create good looks for others. If all else fails, Horford goes to work, turns right shoulder (always) and settles for the mediocre look the Bucks seem to scheme for.

There is no reason whatsoever that the Bucks can’t deploy Antetkounmpo’s post-ups in a similar manner to Horford’s — Antetokounmpo is a skilled and willing passer, capable of making all the same reads. The team’s offense will improve, and with Antetokounmpo resorting to difficult shots less often, his own efficiency will improve.

Next: 2017-18 Week 23 NBA Power Rankings

For the Bucks to take this step, though, the right coach must be brought in this offseason: a creative coach, capable of designing an offense that will maximize Antetokounmpo’s diverse and potent skill-set; a forward-thinking coach, willing to play Antetokounmpo at center. Only then will they maximize his post game.