Giannis Antetokounmpo is the Milwaukee Bucks' own Shaquille O'Neal with better floor vision and a handle. He dominates the paint like no one else can. He is a top three player in the league.
Despite a minutes restriction against the Chicago Bulls, the Greek Freak reminded everyone who and what he is in his first game back from injury. It was easy to forget as the Bucks slogged through losses, but Giannis gives them a superpower few other teams can claim.
The Greek Freak is an unstoppable force
The Bulls were unfortunate enough to have a front-row seat in Giannis' return. In just 25 minutes, he put up 29 points on 67 percent shooting. With Chicago clinging to hope, he put the game away in the final minute and change. To top off a 112-103 win, he hammered home an exclamation point with 1.9 ticks left.
The Bucks did not just benefit from Giannis' box-score contributions. He set the tone early with his physicality in the interior. At one point in the second quarter, he authored back-to-back-to-back dunks. All in all, he had six in the game. Those thunder-jams and subsequent guttural cries are worth more than just two points. Giannis takes teams' souls.
Opposing defenses don't have an answer to stop him. The Bucks didn't have an answer for the void Giannis left, either, while sidelined by a calf strain. The offense depends on his indomitable aggression. They simply cannot replace his force on the floor. When they are struggling or just need a boost, he can will his way to the rim and/or the foul line.
Giannis put that ability on full display in his ahead-of-schedule return: his only points outside the restricted area came on a lone corner three and free throws. Throughout the game and in the closing moments, the Bulls got a full dose of his bulldozer strength. For the Bucks, more paint points and trips to the charity stripe is exactly what the doctor ordered.
Predictably, the team wilted without Giannis. Having the NBA's closest thing to The Hulk did the Bucks no good in his absence. They lost by 45 to the tanking Nets. They suffered a humiliating collapse in Minnesota. Time and again, they came up short.
Giannis can't solve all the roster's flaws, but even at less than 100 percent, he can lift his team over the top. In a back-and-forth affair all Saturday night, he kept the Bucks in control and supplied the final push they needed. He mostly did what he wanted.
In case the NBA universe forgot, Giannis is just a Marvel Comics character in a basketball jersey.