Giannis Antetokounmpo has 24 games left to join Bucks’ 30 PPG club
By Adam McGee
With 24 games remaining for the Milwaukee Bucks this season, Giannis Antetokounmpo has a great chance to average 30 points per game.
As the Milwaukee Bucks gradually start to wind down their 2019-20 season, many of the big questions surrounding them come with an added layer of uncertainty.
The reason for that, as much as anything else, is the question of just how much the Bucks will look to push in the run-in toward the playoffs, rather than solely focusing on preserving energy for the postseason getting underway.
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That makes for a tricky balancing act, as for as much as the prospect of added rest heading into the playoffs seems like a good thing, it’s also crucial to maintain momentum and ensure that the Bucks come into the playoffs in the kind of form they’ve been in all season long.
Perhaps the most discussed hypothetical in this regard is whether the Bucks will be sufficiently motivated to really go out of their way to pursue 70 wins down the stretch. Of course, with a 20-4 record being enough to deliver that from this point in, there’s a chance that Milwaukee may be able to achieve that feat without going out of their way to over-exert themselves.
Another question in that mold, though, is just how much Giannis Antetokounmpo cares about the prospect of averaging 30 points per game for the season.
Antetokounmpo has spent the overwhelming majority of the season above that milestone mark, but after a couple of scoring efforts against Washington and Toronto that were sub-par by his incredibly high standards, the reigning MVP has now dipped below 30 points per game.
With just 41 points combined over those last two outings, Giannis is now averaging 29.7 points per game, meaning he’s by no means very far from clawing his way back above the 30-point threshold.
Of course, while 30 points per game is significant for any player, Giannis has the chance to carve out his own space in Bucks history where that particular feat has been particularly rare.
There have been just three occasions in franchise history when a Buck has averaged over 30 points per game for a season and, likely to the surprise of nobody, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only Milwaukee player to have done so.
Currently on track for back-to-back MVP wins, Giannis already has the opportunity to matchsome one feat that Kareem able to accomplish as a Buck, but there’s no doubt that crossing the 30-point mark would also elevate Antetokounmpo into a different tier on an individual basis.
Next. Corner 3-point shooting stands as marked improvement. dark
Currently averaging just 30.9 minutes per game, it may not be all that easy for Antetokounmpo to get across that line, particularly if the Bucks start to exercise an extra degree of caution. Having said that, you’d have to be more foolish than brave to put anything past Antetokounmpo at this point.