In our latest Milwaukee Bucks Twitter Mailbag, Tim Wray evaluates Giannis’ All-Star MVP chances, looks at the point guard rotation in clutch situations, discusses the team’s ceiling/floor and much more.
All-Star weekend is finally here and it’s time for another edition of the Milwaukee Bucks Twitter Mailbag!
As we’ve done in the past, this weekly mailbag post will run in addition to the one featured on the Win in 6 Podcast in order to connect even further with the Behind the Buck Pass readership.
This week, after the Bucks overcame the Brooklyn Nets 129-125 to extend their winning streak to three games heading into the All-Star break at 25-30 and 9th in the Eastern Conference, we opened the floor to any and all of your All-Star themed (or not) Bucks questions.
If you happened to miss out this week and have a burning Bucks question, be sure to follow @BehindTheBucks on Twitter to keep an eye out for the Win in 6 Podcast mailbag on Sunday or to submit questions for this write-up on either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday nights (usually post-game).
Now, let’s get to the questions!
O/U 2.5 players Giannis pisses off by trying hard on defense in the all star game.
— underrated and misunderstood (parody) (@SirGarvin) February 16, 2017
No easy baskets. Over.
Could a Giannis Antetokounmpo block or steal ignite the Westbrook-Warriors all-in brawl? Maybe.
If it's All-Star edition, what's your thinking of Giannis possibly winning ASG MVP?
— Rohan Katti (@RKattiJr) February 16, 2017
Russell Westbrook is going to be really hard to beat, but Giannis (bias) is my pick.
All-Stars love throwing lobs to one another and who better to finish them all off than the Greek Freak?
As a starter, Giannis should have enough time to shine, but it all comes down to how much opportunity he has with the ball in his hands. (Be selfish!)
He should have plenty of highlights attacking the rim, my only fear is that his lukewarm three-point shot could let him down in a game which included 139 attempts from downtown last year.
giannis for an all 3rd team (or higher) place come end of season awards?
— Benjamin Thomas 🇦🇺 (@Pencil2292) February 16, 2017
Not counting our chickens before they hatch, but I think Giannis will definitely be in the conversation for the All-NBA 3rd Team this year.
With All-NBA Teams being position based, he would need to be selected as one of the top six forwards in the league, which I feel is absolutely possible based on his stellar play this season and bigger things that could be coming after the All-Star break.
do you think Brogdan deserves Delly's minutes in end of game situations (last 5 mins)?
— AJS (@aplindurrrr) February 16, 2017
Evidently, I’m a massive Matthew Dellavedova fan, but from watching the games and looking at the numbers, there’s just no denying that he has been fairly terrible in clutch situations this season (-61), shooting just 16.7 percent from the field (5-31) and 8.3 percent from deep (1-12).
To be fair, every Buck has relatively bad numbers in the last five minutes of games within five points, but Malcolm Brogdon‘s are noticeably better (-15), shooting 33.3 percent from the field (4-12) and 66.6 percent from deep (2-3), albeit from limited attempts.
Ideally, Khris Middleton should help the Milwaukee in these situations moving forward, but the ball needs to be in his or Giannis’ hands first, instead of whoever is slotted in at point guard. I feel this has been a major criticism of Delly and for him to be more effective he needs to be used as a catch-and-shoot option down the stretch rather than on the ball.
Of course, this could be a role filled by Brogdon and it’s certainly worth experimenting with him as a perimeter threat in close games, given that he’s shooting at a 41.7 percent clip from deep, compared to Delly at 36.6 percent.
what do you see the Bucks ceiling and floor (best case and worst case) as the rest of this season?
— Brian Sampson (@BrianSampsonNBA) February 16, 2017
The Bucks have given me enough hope heading into the All-Star break that they may still be able to scrape their way into the 7th or 8th seed in the East. Baring a miracle, I think this is probably their ceiling for this season considering the terrible run through January and Jabari’s injury.
On the other hand, the worst case is probably that the Bucks find themselves well in the playoff hunt only to finish 9th in the East and take home the 14th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. At least if it all goes south after the All-Star break, picking in the mid-lottery with the 8-10th selection is much more favorable than being stuck in mediocrity yet again.
O/U 14.5 made 3s by the Jazz next week.
— underrated and misunderstood (parody) (@SirGarvin) February 16, 2017
Although it certainly felt like more, the Jazz only made 11-29 (37.9 percent) from deep against the Bucks in their first meeting of the season, so I’m going with the under.
That being said, Utah are such a well-coached team that you can almost guarantee that they will abuse the Bucks weaknesses in covering corner three-pointers once again next Friday.
Probably lost a game of knifey-spoony…
Next: The Bucks History In The Rising Stars Challenge
Thanks for all of the great questions, everybody! Don’t forget to shoot us a tweet @BehindTheBucks to have your queries answered on next week’s Milwaukee Bucks Twitter Mailbag.