Giannis Antetokounmpo: First round dominance reaching historic levels

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been fantastic for the Milwaukee Bucks in their first-round series against the Orlando Magic, his dominance unmatched.

Three games into the 2019-20 NBA Playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks have had their share of ups and downs.

After losing Game 1 to the Orlando Magic in shocking fashion, the Bucks bounced back and won two straight, essentially taking control of the series with back-to-back dominant showcases.

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In these three games, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has served as a driving force in Milwaukee’s success.

Game 1 – 34 minutes, 31 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists
Game 2 – 32 minutes, 28 points, 20 rebounds, five assists
Game 3 – 31 minutes, 35 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists

Totaling averages of 31.3 points, 16.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists over these three outings in 32.3 minutes per game, the Greek Freak has been nothing short of marvelous.

Digging deep in the stat books, Giannis joined elite company alongside Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Kevin Garnett as players to average 30 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists across the first three playoff games of a season. It might seem like a picky statistic, but it cannot take away from how fantastic Giannis has been.

To the Magic’s credit, they have battled this entire series without several critical rotational players. With Aaron Gordon, Michael Carter-Williams, and Al Farouq-Aminu all sitting out due to injury, the Magic are undoubtedly depleted as they face the herculean Bucks. Regardless, Milwaukee has reeled off two straight victories after the Game 1 upset, and Antetokounmpo’s strong efforts have given life to the Bucks as a unit.

Via Steve Ashburner of NBA.com:

"“All of us feed off of Giannis and his leadership and his energy and his competitiveness,” said Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer. “When he’s showing it and sharing it with all of us, and touching all of us, it’s great. He’s our leader and we needed it.”"

Milwaukee certainly needed Antetokounmpo’s intensity following their abysmal 3-5 stretch in the seeding games and that eye-opening Game 1 loss the Magic. In two games since the loss, this team has started to look like the pre-hiatus Milwaukee Bucks with their MVP leading the charge. With Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Eric Bledsoe, and even Pat Connaughton heating up recently, they have unquestionably fed off of the MVP’s high-octane presence.

It is not just the scoring from the Bucks either, but their all-around play. Diving on loose balls, hustling back on defense, or making the extra pass, Milwaukee seems to have new life in Games 2 and 3. For reference, Orlando out-rebounded Milwaukee 48-47 in Game 1, but the Bucks took Game 2 with a 57-42 advantage, and Game 3 with a 44-35 advantage.

All of this success does not transpire solely because of Antetokounmpo, of course, but he has certainly played a significant part in it.

Three games is certainly a small sample size, but to see Giannis etched in history alongside Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, and Garnett is just another historical feat the MVP frontrunner achieved this season. Another note, out of those three Hall of Famers, Chamberlain was the only one to go onto eventually win a championship that year. Hopefully, Antetokounmpo can take it a step further and join him when the season ends.

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For now, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have to take care of business against the Orlando Magic before any of that. Heading into the next game with a 2-1 series lead, the Bucks hope to ride their current wave of momentum and put on another dominant showing.

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