Do you believe the Raptors can challenge Giannis Antetokounmpo like the Celtics at least did in Game 1, or will he have an easier ride in this series?
RC: Really, Boston was more suited to stopping Giannis but the triumvirate of Leonard, Siakam and Gasol is a pretty good start for the Raptors. Unfortunately for them, there’s no defense in the world that can consistently slow down Giannis over multiple games. Like Giannis and the Bucks did against Boston, the first game or two will be about feeling them out before making adjustments. I expect Siakam to start on Giannis before Toronto sticks Leonard to Giannis’ hip in desperation. But not even Leonard can shut down Giannis while also carrying an entire offense on his shoulders.
DL: Toronto could pose some of the same issues for Giannis that he ran into in the Celtics series, particularly in Game 1.
Toronto has staked their defensive identity, much like the Bucks have, on limiting the chances their opposition gets in the paint. In particular, Toronto has four gigantic guys (Gasol, Ibaka, Siakam, and Leonard) who can help form a wall in the paint and force Antetokounmpo to defer to others to beat them.
The key is going to be whether Milwaukee can control the pace and move a lot on the offensive end. Will guys be making back-door cuts, setting screens, and/or making themselves available for passes? Or will they be standing around watching Giannis try to score on two to three defenders at once? If it’s the latter, the Bucks are going to struggle to create consistent offense in this series.
Giannis is going to get his due. The question is whether the Bucks stick to the movement and pace that made them so hard to defend during the regular season and playoffs so far.
DB: No one on Toronto has the strength to hold back Giannis like Horford and the Celtics did in Game 1 of the conference semis. Kawhi has to carry the offensive load so I doubt Nick Nurse will have him defend Giannis. Pascal Siakam would get beaten up the whole game due to the difference in strength between the two. Giannis has plenty of experience of playing against Ibaka since these two teams met in the first round in 2017. Antetokounmpo should have no worries against this Toronto team. On the off chance the Raptors come up with a defensive plan to slow him down, then it is on coach Budenholzer to adjust the offense like he did brilliantly in Game 2 against the Celtics.
RK: As I said with Kawhi, there is simply no stopping Giannis. Theoretically, the two best “Giannis-stoppers” in the playoffs were Al Horford and Joel Embiid. Now that those two are eliminated, Giannis should fear no defender for the remainder of this postseason. Toronto will most likely use Pascal Siakam as Antetokounmpo’s primary defender, which is especially favorable for Giannis considering that Siakam appears to still be affected by a leg injury that hampered his mobility is the latter half of the Sixers series. Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol have shown little ability to defend Giannis well, and Kawhi is just too small to keep up with him.
SR: No. If there was a defender or scheme that could stop Giannis Antetokounmpo at impacting the game in a multitude of ways, he wouldn’t be the NBA MVP. Even if the Raptors form their version of the Great Wall of Boston, or Pascal Siakam, Kawhi Leonard, and Serge Ibaka all rotate and bother him enough, Antetokounmpo has adjusted and overcome every challenge put in front of him this season. Early in the season we noticed the Pacers and Heat matched up the best against Antetokounmpo because of bigger, stronger wings with rim-protectors helping weak side, but then Antetokounmpo went ahead and promptly destroyed both of these teams in each subsequent matchup.
LW: No. Siakam is a great defender, as is Kawhi, and Giannis will have to work for his points, but he is playing so well right now that I don’t see him having another game like the Boston Game 1. Also, quite frankly, I don’t believe Nurse is as good a defensive coach as Stevens.
BR: While the Raptors have a couple of reasonable options in Leonard and Siakam, I don’t think either of them have the potential to give Giannis the problems Al Horford did in Game 1. Giannis is simply too big for Leonard to handle every possession, and Siakam doesn’t have the defensive IQ or experience Horford possesses to make defending him feasible.
I think Giannis will have an easier time this series, but Middleton could struggle offensively being defended by Leonard and additionally having to expend his energy defending him on the other end of the floor.
JT: Like we touched on with Leonard, there is no one strategy nor defender that can limit Giannis at this stage and at this point in the playoffs. Where he has had an adjustment period after having the occasional off night in the past, it’s gotten to the point where Antetokounmpo getting back up to speed after such showings doesn’t take all that much time before he starts looking like the MVP candidate that we all know and love.
Toronto certainly has the size, physicality and veteran know-how to at least rough him up a bit on his way to the paint as well as the free throw line with both Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, but they don’t have the athletic, versatile defenders that truly look imposing. Siakam will have plenty of cracks to do so, but he’s already been hampered by his calf injury and the loss of OG Anunoby looms large as well, even considering the challenging sophomore season that’s been saddled with unfortunate developments off the court too.
Kawhi is “the break glass, in case of emergency” option for the Raptors but I really wonder if that’s the best use for his Defensive Player of the Year-like prowess over the course of a series (situationally, no doubt).
In short, even if Antetokounmpo is slowed down in some way, it won’t take him long to return back to his form and/or other ways to damage the Raptors with his all-around game.