Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Win Over Los Angeles Clippers

Giannis Resumes Normal Service

Having averaged only 12 points on a combined 9-26 from the field in his previous two games, the Bucks needed Giannis Antetokounmpo to return to his All-Star best against a team of the Clippers’ caliber.

When called upon, Antetokounmpo was able to deliver too. The Greek Freak finished this game with 24 points, eight assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks, and did so while shooting an efficient 10-13 from the field.

Perhaps even more important than that was the fact that the 22-year-old only played 31 minutes to reach those numbers. That was the lowest minutes total Antetokounmpo has played for the Bucks since a 29-minute outing against the 76ers on Jan. 16.

At 35.5 minutes per game on the season, Giannis ranks 14th in the league, while his total of 2092 minutes puts him one place higher at 13th.

With poor performances in his previous two games coming with fatigue seeming a likely factor, the Bucks will have to be happy to have kept Antetokounmpo below his minutes average on the first leg of a back-to-back. They should really take greater care in doing similar for the rest of the season.

Antetokounmpo doesn’t only lead the team in minutes this year, but he also played for his national team in the Olympic qualifying tournament last summer after playing over 2,800 minutes for Milwaukee last season, and has had less rest than most of his teammates of late due to the rigors of his appearance and media obligations around the All-Star game.

There’s nothing the Bucks can achieve this year that trumps the importance of maintaining Antetokounmpo’s great track record in terms of health, but they should also be approaching his minutes with the perspective of longevity. If this is the guy who’s going to lead your franchise for the next decade, best not to burn him out at 22.