Heading into this season, the Milwaukee Bucks’ roster was criticized, but they have one advantage: They surrounded Giannis Antetokounmpo with legit three-point shooting. And through their first two games of the new season, that seems to be paying off. Bill Simmons and Joe House discussed this on a recent edition of The Bill Simmons Podcast:
“Giannis looked like Giannis again,” said Simmons. “Porter got hurt during the game, but they beat a bad team. But I’m still bullish on Milwaukee being a mid-to-high 40s team.”
“Here’s the thing, if they are dedicated to the bit, they came out and shot the three-ball excellent,” said House.
“That’s what they want to do,” said Simmons.
If the Bucks can continue to shoot well with Antetokounmpo doing what he does best, they could be better than people expect.
What does shooting do for Giannis and Bucks?
The two podcasters continued their conversation from there:
“Because they were the best percentage-wise three-point shooting team in the league, but they were underutilizing it volume-wise,” said House. “Well, five of their first eight made baskets were threes. They won the basketball game in the first six minutes. Now, this might be a common theme when you play the Wizards, but they got up by 20. They were on pace for 200 points in that game. They had 25 points in the first six minutes because the ball moved beautifully; those guys knew exactly where they were going to be. AJ Green was excellent.”
“And they have space, they have space because of the shooters,” said Simmons. “They took care of AJ Green.”
“And they dared Washington to rotate defensively, and it didn’t happen, and they just knocked down threes,” said House.
“I like the concept, theoretically, of Giannis and shooting,” said Simmons. “And then, Turner with Giannis defensively, I think is going to matter, and I still am in on that team.”
Antetokounmpo is still one of the best basketball players on the planet. His talent on both ends of the court is undeniable, and he’s at his best when there are players around him to space the floor.
Despite the fact that the Bucks waived Damian Lillard and didn’t really replace him at the point guard spot, they have plenty of solid three-point shooters lining the roster.
Gary Trent Jr. is a legit shooter, AJ Green is bordering on elite from distance, and Taurean Prince can fill it up, too. Add in Cole Anthony’s sparkplug scoring, and the Bucks have plenty of shooters.
Putting that around Antetokounmpo could be a dangerous thing.