Giannis Antetokounmpo keeping turnovers in check relative to usage

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been no stranger to high volumes of turnovers this season, but that’s to be expected given his sky-high usage.

As the Milwaukee Bucks cruised to their 42nd win of the season on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns, Giannis Antetokounmpo put up the kind of incredible stat-line that’s become something akin to par for the course for him over the past two seasons.

With 30 points, 19 rebounds, and nine assists, there could be no mistake that Giannis was driving the Bucks forward in so many different elements of their game against Phoenix.

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Also of note from that performance, though, was Antetokounmpo’s turnover tally. Giannis finished with seven giveaways for the game, which is the kind of stat that would normally make you recoil, but has more generally become an accepted and acceptable part of how Antetokounmpo needs to play to impart his will on a contest.

Giannis has had five or more turnovers in 11 of his 45 games on the season to date, and it seems as though that frequency may only increase as the year goes on, and as the Bucks eventually switch into postseason mode.

The reasons for Antetokounmpo’s high turnover totals are manifold, and not strictly tied to the kind of sloppiness that is generally assumed as the cause for such issues.

Importantly, Giannis currently leads the NBA in usage percentage, with his 36.8 percent mark eclipsing even James Harden and Luka Doncic. Antetokounmpo is the Bucks’ focal point, and his hands are on almost everything they do. In other words, almost three out of every eight Bucks’ possessions finish with Antetokounmpo either shooting, getting to the free throw line, or turning the ball over.

That doesn’t account for Antetokounmpo’s load in terms of ball-handling and playmaking either, where he also takes on considerable responsibilities for the Bucks.

Where Antetokounmpo differs to the likes of Harden and Doncic is in terms of how he scores the bulk of his points, though, and how he’s defended by opponents, in turn.

Offensive fouls have become an inevitability of Antetokounmpo’s game as opposing defenses look to wall him off, defend physically, and draw attention to any and all contact. Giannis has previously alluded to the fact that teammate Eric Bledsoe has encouraged him not to be deterred by picking up offensive fouls, and the turnovers that they equate to, and some variety of lost handles up against contact on those drives.

Additionally, early in the season, Antetokounmpo spoke directly to this subject in conversation with Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, following a particularly tough game of calls against the Chicago Bulls.

"“I’m really happy that they’re offensive fouls and they’re not dumb fouls and all that. Usually, in the games like this that I get offensive fouls I know that I’m aggressive, I know that I’m trying to get downhill, trying to make plays. I’m happy with that.”"

Put simply, Giannis plays in a way that forces us to reconsider what it means to see a player rack up turnovers at a high rate. To get Giannis playing at his very best, it’s essential that he has the freedom to play with the kind of aggressiveness that at times could spill over into lost possessions.

The positive far outweighs the negative in this case, and while a piece like this may normally conclude with a note on how it wouldn’t hurt if Giannis was to slightly rein in his turnovers ahead of the playoff, that’s not going to be the case here.

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Antetokounmpo needs to continue playing like the ultimate alpha on the floor, and with that energy, all of the production that has made him a frontrunner for consecutive MVP awards equates to unsurprisingly positive results for the Bucks.

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