Even on a minutes restriction, Giannis Antetokounmpo's return worked wonders for the Milwaukee Bucks' offense. Kevin Porter Jr. had done his best to lead the show in his absence, but with his wild play style, turnovers became a major problem. Without the human wrecking ball that is Giannis, too often possessions stagnated on the perimeter. The Bucks had no answer.
Having their leader back on the court restored composure and direction. Turnovers went down; paint points went up. With his team teetering on the brink, Giannis could not have come back at a better time.
Giannis restores order as head of Bucks' operation
Antetokounmpo himself provided 29 points and eight rebounds on 10-for-15 from the field. He also got to the line 10 times, another Bucks weakness laid bare by his absence. A day after managing only 28 paint points in Memphis, they put up 46 versus the Bulls. A splurge of Giannis dunks was a big reason why.
As for the turnovers, those dropped from 22 Saturday against the Grizzlies to just 12. That ties the Bucks' fewest since Giannis strained his calf 10 games ago. Over their last six, they averaged nearly 18 per game.
The giveaways have been one of the Bucks' most irksome flaws. Without Giannis, they could ill-afford to throw away possessions anyway. On top of that, the turnover problem intensified due to an exaggerated playmaking burden on Porter, combined with his own sometimes reckless tendencies.
That trait did not disappear in Chicago, as Porter turned it over four more times. But as a No. 1 option, Porter's turnover issues only seemed to grow worse. In four of his last five games coming in, he had committed six or more. Painfully short on playmaking, the Bucks were asking him to do too much.
Because of their respective injuries, Giannis and Porter have not shared the floor much this season. The sample size is thus very small, but in three full games together, Porter has committed only six turnovers. In the eight other games he finished healthy, he is averaging 4.5.
Although Porter's usage will decrease, Giannis' return should make him somewhat more efficient, which is good news for the health of the offense as a whole. Porter will have less on his plate as a shot creator. Teams can't home in on him as the primary ball handler.
With Giannis on the receiving end, making plays does not require putting the ball in harm's way. Throw it up and he will get it; Porter found him for multiple dunks against the Bulls. Whether through Giannis baskets directly or because teammates are more open due to his presence, Porter should get easier assists with Antetokounmpo on the floor.
Having Giannis back helps everyone in other obvious ways. His gravity draws in entire defenses. Besides creating open looks, that will, in itself, help repair some of the Bucks' spacing issues. He is a dominant paint scorer and, although he only had one assist against Chicago, the team's most complete passer.
Giannis can't totally cure the ball security and spacing flaws, but he can reel in the turnovers, revitalize ball movement, and smooth over mistakes. After nearly a month on the sidelines, he wasted no time re-asserting himself as the Bucks' anchor.