For many years, Myles Turner thrived as a sweet-shooting big man in Indiana due to the spacing and gravity created by All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Now, Turner is about to find out just how much gravity Giannis Antetokounmpo has as one of the most dominant forces in the game and how much that can improve his perimeter shooting even further.
Players have career years as shooters when they play with Giannis
Floor spacing big men thriving alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo is nothing new. Brook Lopez was flirting with becoming a reliable outside shooter prior to Milwaukee, but he became one of the best long-range shooters in the NBA once he got next to Giannis. The same goes for Portis, who has shot 39.7 percent from deep in Milwaukee, including 47.1 percent in his first season with the team.
Last season, Brook Lopez ranked fifth in the entire NBA in "wide open" 3-pointers made with 98, using the phenomenal spacing created by Giannis to his advantage. Interestingly enough, tied for first place was Myles Turner, who buried 121 of them. Lopez had Antetokounmpo dishing him the basketball, while Turner had one of the NBA's best passers in Haliburton. Recipe for success.
The numbers back it up. Giannis passed the ball to Portis 129 times last regular season, and he shot 17-of-34 (50 percent) from deep off them. Lopez was less efficient at just 25-of-65 (38.5 percent) off 422 passes, but the success was still there. Meanwhile, Turner shot 75-of-185 (40.5 percent) on his triple tries courtesy of Haliburton passes. The next closest number of makes that came from a particular teammate's pass was 35. Everyone thrived off the stars.
(It must be noted that Giannis was sharing the offensive controls with a ball-dominant guard in Damian Lillard, which is why the attempts are lower)
No disrespect to Wisconsin native Tyrese Haliburton, but he does not command attention like Giannis does with the ball in his hands. Teams don't clog the lane for Haliburton. With that in mind, Turner could get even more wide-open looks during his time next to the Greek Freak, and it could turn his output up a notch like it has for previous big men who have already thrived with the Bucks.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo set to take on more ball-handling responsibility than ever before as the Bucks gear up for him to be a "point guard," shooters must be ready every single trip down the floor. With Brook Lopez now gone, Turner has big shoes to fill, and it all starts with him capitalizing on being next to one of the NBA's most commanding forces.
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