Milwaukee Bucks Best and Worst: November 13 – December 6
By Adam Coffman
Neither: Giannis at Center? Why Not?
I wasn’t sure whether to designate this trend as either as positive or negative, as it has elements of both, so for this week we’ll have a new category.
Over the last two weeks or so, the Bucks have rolled out a series of lineups featuring Giannis at the de facto center position, often with Jabari Parker or Mirza Teletovic accompanying.
I wrote about this in the past as a potential Bucks’ version of the Warriors “Death Lineup”, but considering the limitations of the center position (three players making $42 million combined this season), I never imagined this style of lineup being implemented this season.
Lineups featuring Giannis but absent any of the Bucks’ four centers have played a total of 46 minutes so far this season, and although it’s a small sample size, it looks like there is definitely something there.
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These lineups have a composite offensive rating of 125, an excellent mark that makes sense when considering the matchups: no center in the league can guard Giannis or Jabari, and sliding a big man over to guard Teletovic will keep them away from the rim, where the aforementioned duo can drive virtually uninhibited.
These lineups also have a defensive rating of 101, an impressive number but one that is more affected by noise or particular matchups.
Of course, this isn’t something that is terribly sustainable; truly talented big men will feast on Giannis in the post and keeping $42 million off the court for an extended amount of time can’t be considered a great allocation of resources, but like many positive developments we’ve seen so far, this is a glimpse into the future of the Bucks.
Next: Milwaukee Bucks Player of the Week: Nov 27-Dec 3
That’s it for this edition, make sure to check back soon where we’ll look at more positives and negative relating to the Bucks!