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Milwaukee Bucks: Five X-Factors for the team to succeed in NBA’s Orlando restart

By Dylan Carter

MILWAUKEE, WI - DECEMBER 09: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks celebrates a dunk with Eric Bledsoe #6 during the second half of a game against the Utah Jazz at the Bradley Center on December 9, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - DECEMBER 09: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks celebrates a dunk with Eric Bledsoe #6 during the second half of a game against the Utah Jazz at the Bradley Center on December 9, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Milwaukee Bucks (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

X-Factor No. 4: Giannis has done it in the regular season, but can he keep it up in the playoffs?

Let’s go through the list of accomplishments we’ve seen from Giannis Antetokounmpo in these last few seasons: He’s become a perennial MVP candidate, one of the most feared defenders in the sport, an influential passer, a dominant rebounder and the most physically-dominant basketball player since Shaquille O’Neal.

Unless you think getting that Defensive Player of the Year award is going to make a big difference in his legacy, the next logical step in his progression toward greatness is the accolade that he’s going to chase for the rest of his career — Becoming an NBA champion. I’d like to think that there’s no way he doesn’t get a ring during his career, but you never know with the depth of talent scattered throughout the league these days.

If Giannis doesn’t get one, he falls into a long line of amazing players whose legacies get pushed aside for those who won the rings. Whether you subscribe to ‘rings culture’ or not, there’s no denying that in a league designed to compete for the title, not winning one is detrimental to a player’s legacy. For Giannis, this season poses the best chance he’s had yet at earning his ring.

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Antetokounmpo has to go into the playoffs expecting that teams will scheme differently to contain him. Even last season when he had the Raptors and Celtics both throwing all-world defenders at him, he still managed to get 25.3 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and ridiculous 2.2 blocks per game on a decent 48.2 percent. His deep-shooting was uncanny in that stretch, as he hit 14 3-pointers at 36.8 percent in those two series. When the opposition left him open to bait him into shooting, he rose above what we’d seen from him up to that point.

Quite frankly, I don’t think it’s on Giannis to step up in the playoffs. Barring a complete meltdown, he’s going to be the best player on the floor in the majority of games he plays and the final result will come down to whether or not the team around him can step up to the plate. Besides a few bad shooting nights after getting pummeled by the entire opposing team, there’s not much to indicate that Antetokounmpo isn’t a playoff performer.

However, he’s going to keep having to prove it until he gets that ring. Even if/when he does, Giannis will keep having to prove himself until No. 34 hangs in the rafters at Fiserv Forum.

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