How the Milwaukee Bucks can maintain their hot start

Milwaukee Bucks: Attacking the Basket

When Shaquille O’Neal was a young phenom, known for tearing down backboards as a member of the Orlando Magic, a reporter once asked him what type of player he wanted to be. O’Neal replied, “I want to be strong and dominant.” like Wilt Chamberlain.” Needless to say, he accomplished that goal and plenty more.

The Milwaukee Bucks have a phenom on their roster by the name of Giannis Antetokounmpo. While he will most likely never be a dunk contest participant, he is certainly one of the best in-game dunkers in the entire league. However, it is not just “The Greek Freak” who has decided to make a concerted effort to attack the rim; it is the team as a whole.

Versatile Center Bobby Portis may be known for his hustle plays and for knocking down the occasional 3-pointer, but he is also gritty enough to grab an offensive rebound and go right back up for a physical two-point play. And while Brook Lopez is becoming known as one of the best 3-point shooting big men in the league, he still has the vast array of low post moves that allowed him to average over twenty points per game when he was a member of the Brooklyn Nets.

All of this has led to trips to the free-throw line. The Bucks are currently eighth in the league in free throw attempts per game, with 24.2 attempts per contest. While they’re only converting on 72.9 percent of those attempts, the fact that they’re getting to the free-throw line so frequently means that their opponent’s frontcourt is often in foul trouble.

With a scoring machine like Antetokounmpo on the front line, opposing teams cannot afford to have a depleted line of defense. So far this season, Giannis is taking full advantage of these circumstances, averaging an impressive 32.6 points per game. It is clear that this strategy of attacking the basket is paying major dividends for the team.