With the Milwaukee Bucks experiencing an uneven start to their 2020-21 season, we look at some of the early impressions that have stood out so far.
The opening week to the Milwaukee Bucks‘ 2020-21 season was nothing if not eventful.
Coming off an absolutely dreadful performance against the New York Knicks Sunday night, the Bucks stand at 1-2 on the season and their play has been anything but consistent over their early run of games.
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Whether it’s been the promising starts of Donte DiVincenzo or the impact of new Bucks guard Jrue Holiday, there have still been flashes of the promising squad that the Bucks have molded after such a busy offseason.
Needless to say, it’s going to be a process for everything to come together just as the Bucks envision it will, especially under the prism of competing for an NBA championship this year.
With that in mind, let’s explore the three things that we learned from the Milwaukee Bucks’ opening week to the 2020-21 season, starting with the overall usage of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo may be in line for more minutes this season
The minutes workload of Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a popular topic, especially given how the Bucks’ playoff run last year shook out.
Under head coach Mike Budenholzer, the Bucks have regularly looked to preserve Antetokounmpo’s body and durability, both on the practice court and game situations. It couldn’t be more different from what Antetokounmpo was used to under former head coach Jason Kidd and the two-time MVP explained the differences between the two coaches to Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes in November 2019:
"“It’s tough. It was tough, but that’s not happening this year,” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports about getting upset with his coach’s decision to rest him periodically. “I was used to [former Bucks coach] Jason Kidd. He was breaking us down, but I was happy about it. I think I was the only one that was embracing that. I came from nothing and worked hard every day. That’s what I was used to. “Having Jason Kidd was fun. Obviously, we didn’t break through from the first round, but it’s different. Like, if this is the middle, Jason Kidd was right here and Mike Bud is way over there [in coaching philosophy]. They’re totally different. Mike Bud wants you to rest, he wants you to stay with your family, but the day we work out, he wants you to be there and he wants you to give everything.”"
It’s certainly helped that the Bucks were as successful in each of the last two regular seasons, which significantly decreased his minutes year over year since Budenholzer’s arrival. But as the Bucks’ depth had crumbled in successive playoff runs, Antetokounmpo’s usage and playing time largely didn’t increase under Budenholzer.
As Antetokounmpo talked about after the Bucks’ opening night loss to the Celtics, that strategy appears to be changing as the Greek superstar explained that he will see the floor for more minutes/when needed after discussing it with Budenholzer.
Giannis Antetokounmpo said he'll be playing more minutes this year - said was part of a conversation he had with Budenholzer. He said it'll help him get in the 'shape' he wants to be in, noting he played just two preseason games but also meaning the time spent with teammates. https://t.co/PVDY4yXFx7
— Jim Owczarski (@JimOwczarski) December 24, 2020
Antetokounmpo’s point of working himself into game shape is a prudent one, considering the shortened preseason and the fact that he didn’t play in Milwaukee’s last preseason game. Along with that, the threat of getting into foul trouble always looms over Antetokounmpo’s availability on the court and it very well could be a recurring theme again this season, given how teams will defend him.
On the other hand, the Bucks’ depth is far from sorted out from the early impressions we’ve seen of their many changes within their bench unit.
To get himself ready to extensive minutes when it will really matter most, Antetokounmpo getting his way to see more minutes will surely be beneficial in the long run. The Bucks’ coaching and medical staff have done what’s best for Antetokounmpo over the last couple of years especially, but seeing him unleashed and getting used to heavy minutes is critical to really change things this time around.