There are very few people that can match the physical gifts and stature than that of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
So much of Antetokounmpo’s game is viewed through the prism of what he can do that no one else can do. It’s not often you see a seven-footer slalom through a crowd of defenders in one or two dribbles to then stretch his freakish arms at the cup or fly in on the other side of the ball and reject a shot attempt at the apex of its trajectory.
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All of that isn’t to say that Antetokounmpo doesn’t have clear faults and far too often, those flaws are best and most consistently illuminated on the playoff stage. The conversation has reignited in light of Antetokounmpo’s erratic play throughout the Bucks’ Conference Semifinals series with the Brooklyn Nets.
Milwaukee finally broke through with an 86-83 win over the Nets in Game 3 to get on the board in the series and in spite of Antetokounmpo’s showing veering on reckless and stubborn, all while offering the same extraordinary feats we’ve come to expect from him throughout his career
No one would accuse of Antetokounmpo being absent or passive throughout the proceedings throughout the Bucks’ win. In fact, the opposite has proven true and therein lies the heart of the problem for the 26-year-old superstar.
Giannis Antetokounmpo must clear the own wall he’s built for himself and the Milwaukee Bucks
So much of Antetokounmpo’s struggles in the postseason have centered around the wall that the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat constructed that the two-time MVP was unable to clear. In this series against the Nets, there is no wall for Antetokounmpo to clear.
Just as they had throughout the season series, the Nets have staunchly deployed the likes of Blake Griffin and Nic Claxton to blockade Antetokounmpo off from the paint and the basket, along with the occasional help defenders striking.
When Antetokounmpo has gotten to the paint and the rim, he’s been playing up to his usual, extraordinary standards this series. Antetokounmpo is shooting 21-for-26 at the restricted area (80.8 percent), 9-for-16 on paint shots outside of the restricted area (56.3 percent) and is 14-for-22 on driving field goal attempts (63.6 percent), per NBA.com/stats.
The problem, though, has been in the moments where Antetokounmpo has brandished and even relied on his jump shot. After shooting 1-for-8 from 3-point range in Game 3, he’s now up to 3-for-16 from downtown on the series. More concerning is the fact that he’s 6-for-19 from the free throw line (31.6 percent) against Brooklyn.
Yet how Antetokounmpo carries himself from both the 3-point line and the free throw line couldn’t be far different. Antetokounmpo continues to hoist up rushed and rhythmless 3-point attempts and he’s shooting 1-for-5 from three on shots that run from 22-18 seconds on the shot clock and 1-for-4 on shots that range from 18-15 seconds. Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo’s free throw routine continues to extend past 10 seconds and he’s been called for two 10-second violations during the playoffs already.
Ask Antetokounmpo, though, about his penchant to rely on those 3-point attempts and make the Nets pay through his shooting and he says he’s only relying on his instincts in such moments as ESPN’s Tim Bontemps relayed after Game 3:
"“It’s all about instinct,” said Anteokounmpo, who also had 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 turnovers in 43 minutes. “Basketball is all about instincts. At the end of the day, my instinct is telling me that’s the right decision to take it, I’ll live with that…And at the end of the day, I was just trying to make the right decision in the right moment and today it was shooting 8 3s, and next game it was shooting zero 3s. Who knows? I’m just going to try to keep making the right decision.”"
For someone who said just last month that no one can go back and forth with Nets superstar Kevin Durant, Antetokounmpo has continually forced the issue and put the Bucks on his back in ways that hasn’t suited him.
The Bucks have spent the better of Antetokounmpo’s entire career maximizing his wide-ranging skill set, building his body and helping develop the player he stands today. Again, he isn’t without his faults (who is?), but there’s certainly a fragility that increasingly surfaces the more Antetokounmpo struggles to overcome the flaws that has buried him.
The question moving forward for the Bucks and Antetokounmpo is how they can further leverage what Antetokounmpo brings to the table, both physically and from a skills perspective. After all, the biggest wall that Antetokounmpo has yet to break through may be of his doing.