Milwaukee Bucks 2014-15 Season Review: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Apr 30, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the game against the Chicago Bulls in game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Chicago won 120-66. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Weaknesses

I picked a picture of Giannis engaged with the hated Mike Dunleavy Jr. for a reason. One of Giannis’ weaknesses in my eyes is his penchant to get overly emotional during games sometimes. Nobody likes losing and I think most Bucks fans would agree Dunleavy threw more shots than Giannis did in that fateful Game 6, but you cannot lose your focus and tackle someone in an NBA game. It can’t happen.

This one I’m not as worried about, just because Antetokounmpo will be working with Zen Master Jason Kidd all offseason, who I’m not even sure has emotions. Hopefully the two can balance each other out a little bit. I’m not saying I would want a Kobe-esque Giannis (although I might soon because that sounds awesome) but the kid (I’m about a month younger than Giannis, but don’t question it) just needs to stay level throughout the ups and downs of an intense contest.

Giannis’ other weakness is a little more obvious: shooting. Right now a full 50 percent of Giannis’ shot attempts come from within three feet, and he makes over 63 percent of those extremely close baskets. That’s good. What’s not good is Giannis’ field goal percentage when you ignore his shots right at the rim.

That number is about 32 percent. So right now if defenses can keep Antetokounmpo away from the rim they morph him into a 32 percent shooter. It’s not easy to keep Giannis far from the basket to be sure, but it’s not impossible either. His three-point numbers are even worse. Out of a mere 45 attempted threes all season, Antetokounmpo made but seven. All year.

Clearly that’s a problem, as teams know they can leave Giannis alone deep and not worry about getting burned. This leads to the paint getting clogged, and the Greek Freak not being able to do much of anything sometimes. It’s a vicious cycle that has killed Milwaukee’s offense several times this season, but it can be avoided. It all depends on how summer goes for Antetokounmpo.

Next: Summer Focus