Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Loss To New Orleans Pelicans

Giannis Was Getting Distracted

At one point in the third quarter of this game, Anthony Davis hit Giannis with a little dribble move than sunk a jumper in his face. Davis grew up short and played guard, so his handle is unfairly good for someone who’s just about seven feet tall.

Giannis responded by wasting at least two of the next three Bucks possession by getting the ball, dribbling down court, trying to cook Davis and pulling up for a long, contested jumper. He missed both of them, and a few more after that.

There is not a single result opposing teams would love more than Giannis taking the ball, not passing it at all, and then settling for a contested jumper from inside the arc. It’s the least efficient thing he could do, save just handling the ball to the other team.

Especially when Jabari is so red-hot, there’s no reason Giannis should be playing that way. He hasn’t looked like a point forward this year, as evidenced by his one assist and 16 shot attempts in this game. Thankfully Matthew Dellavedova played some real point guard, dishing 12 assists in this contest.