Over the last several seasons, the Bucks have been slowly getting better, and building a better team. And we can safely say, Giannis Antetokounmpo officially arrived as a legit star in the NBA last season with a great scoring ability. Since 2001, Milwaukee has landed themselves no better than a 1st round loss in the playoffs, and only 8 appearance in the postseason for the East. Milwaukee hasn’t finished with 50 wins or more since 2000 when Ray Allen was donning the green and gold.
Milwaukee has had a faster pace in games, which keeps teams on the defense, and keeps teams backpedaling. Which also help to make sure the gas is on for the Bucks, keeping the team churning. The Bucks have been forcing more turnovers than what they used to cause in close games, leading to the ever important, quick points.
Milwaukee has struggled to find its way as a feared team in the NBA for many years. The Bucks were averaging a sad and lowly 35 wins in the previous 3 seasons, before Antetokounmpo was drafted in 2013. A Milwaukee team that has had some great players on their courts, in their history, like Sidney Moncrief, Marques Johnson and the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And they haven’t had a really dangerous scorer, or a skilled player like Antetokounmpo since Michael Redd was playing back in early 2000’s. And Redd was not even close to being the player, and talent that Antetokounmpo is. Antetokounmpo is a great natural scorer – very smooth and silky when putting the ball in the hoop. He has firmly en-grained his spot on the Bucks as the team’s No. 1 scoring weapon, with 25 ppg, 21 shots/game, and a lighting fast step. He’s the player every team focuses on trying to contain, each and every fan wants to enjoy watch play.
Milwaukee had a strong scoring option 1 but were always weaker at the scoring option 2 position. But now Milwaukee seems to getting the feel of establishing some good team chemistry. The Bucks have good size and length, with 7 players at 6-9 or bigger, which therefore allows them to cover a lot of space, shutting down opposing fast breaks. But in this era of “stacked teams” the Bucks need to get another steady scorer alongside him, which is where Khris Middleton can come into play, if he becomes the big time player many envisioned him to be.
Shooting 41% and scoring 7pts/game Antetokounmpo in 2013 – he was someone to watch, but his great potential to become their player for the future was something to keep an eye on. Since that rookie season, Antetokounmpo has picked up time on the court, his stamina is outstanding, and the coaching staff isn’t afraid to run him on the court. The Bucks don’t have the luxury of resting their stars, because they have to earn their wins, the tough way every night. But they are getting there.
Antetokounmpo continues destroying opponents on a nightly basis, and Eric Bledsoe and Middleton have been good playing off each other as costars on the Bucks, but they need just a bit more talent, for me to seriously believe in Milwaukee any sooner. How far Antetokounmpo and the Bucks can climb in the East, is obviously in huge part on him. He has struggled with a steady shot, outside of taking it to the hoop, and his flowing one handed leaners. His shooting from the 12ft or more range has not been anything to brag about either. And his 3pt shooting has to get better. It has been far below what the NBA expects from their “stars” in this day and age. Hitting just 27% of his 3’s in his 6 year career.
Antetokounmpo needs to spend some more time working on that outside shot, as it is one of the few skills lacking in his excellent all-around game. Antetokounmpo definitely needs to improve that specific area if he’s going to be the one to lead this team. When other big name NBA stars, are pulling in rave reviews and media love for putting up 6-7 threes a game, and hitting 38%+ of their shots, it is often overlooked when a great player can make plays in a more traditional way like Giannis has done. But teams need their star to be able to stick it from deep now and then with consistency.
Giannis Antetokounmpo can score, rebound and play with the best of the best. His shooting, on the whole, has continued to get better every season. He is an old school type player, which is something I personally really admire, he doesn’t live running around the arc, he can take players off the dribble, and can take it to the bucket with incredible ease. The Bucks should make the Eastern Conference playoffs this year, and absolutely have one of the league’s brightest futures in their superstar.
“The Greek Freak” is one of my personal favorite players to watch in the league and is currently 13th in the league for scoring and tops for rebounding for his position. The Milwaukee Bucks are on their way to becoming a very good team with high potential to become one of the teams that will become a front-runner over the next 2-3 years, still in Antetokounmpo’s prime.
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