For most of Giannis Antetokounmpo's career, the Milwaukee Bucks have surrounded him with centers who can space the floor with an adequate three-ball. Now, the Miami Heat are trying to pair Giannis with Bam Adebayo, a center who can shoot the long ball, but not as efficiently as one would like. It has the makings to be an incredibly clunky fit.
Giannis loves his floor spacers
Known for his unmatched interior dominance, it has always made sense to surround Giannis with an array of perimeter shooters, especially in the frontcourt. When he drives, having a reliable kick-out threat on the perimeter makes defenses pick their poison. Pairing him with a fellow big man who cannot shoot and instead also likes living in the lane would take away Giannis' impact on offense.
It's not shocking that Giannis' best years came with Brook Lopez, who developed into one of the best long-range shooters the center position has ever seen. With Lopez lingering deep, defenses couldn't simply leave him open, which took pressure off of Giannis, leading to more production. The Bucks did their part to replicate this with Myles Turner, selling the farm to do so.
Suddenly taking away that essential part of the formula could be a disaster.
Adebayo is not Brook Lopez
Like Lopez, Bam Adebayo has started relying on the long-ball more as his career has progressed. Last year, he attempted 2.8 triples per game, upping that to 5.5 this season. While he attempted 400 threes, he only made 127 of them, a lowly 31.8 percent. That's not the type of spacing that can help take pressure off of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
When Giannis drives, defenses won't put the same attention on Adebayo that they did with Lopez for so many years. A 35.7 percent 3-point shooter in Milwaukee, Lopez kept defenses on their toes with his three-ball. Unless he becomes a deadeye perimeter threat this summer, defenses will focus on Antetokounmpo and dare Abebayo to fire away. They will live with that 31.8 percent success rate.
It doesn't help that a good chunk of Miami's current shooting, coming from players like Tyler Herro and Kel'el Ware, would be heading to Milwaukee in this transaction, making things even tougher.
The Heat are well aware of the potential clunkiness of the fit. However, per the Miami Herald veteran writer Barry Jackson, they aren't worried about it. Whether that's because they believe Adebayo can take strides with his shot, find adequate shooting to surround the two with, or because they simply don't care and want Giannis, they are willing to look past the potential concerns.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.
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