Guarding the Greek Freak a ‘nightmare’ for Toronto
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee in every statistical category
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo presents a defensive conundrum for the Toronto Raptors.
Assign a shorter player on the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks star can take advantage on the block. Put a taller player on him and the athletic Antetokounmpo might blow past him to the hoop.
Antetokounmpo is a highlight-reel regular for dunks in transition. He can make opponents pay for double-teams, too.
The Raptors need to figure this problem out beginning today, when the Bucks visit the Air Canada Centre to open a firstround series in the NBA playoffs.
“It’s not going to be a one-man job. It’s going to be a team effort to guard him,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “But him in transition, it’s not a dream, it’s a nightmare.”
Antetokounmpo, the son of migrants from Nigeria who grew up in a modest neighbourhood in Athens, Greece, has come to be known as the Greek Freak.
He blossomed into an all-star in his first full season since coach Jason Kidd made him a primary ball-handler. He became the first player in NBA history to finish a season in the top 20 in total points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. He’s just the fifth player in league history to lead a team in every statistical category for a season, according to the Bucks.
With 42 wins, the Bucks finished above .500 for the first time since 2009-10. Now, they’d like to advance past the first round for the first time since going to the conference finals in 2001 with Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson leading the way.
By comparison, the Raptors are grizzled veterans with four straight post-season trips. They lost to Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals last season in six games.
“People don’t expect us to beat the Raptors,” Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon said. “We’re going in with that underdog mentality to prove people wrong. We’ve been proving people wrong up to this point, and we’re going to continue to do so.”
Antetokounmpo’s emergence is a big reason why the Bucks are back in the postseason for the second time in three seasons. Six-foot-eight forward DeMarre Carroll will likely draw the first turn defending him, with 6-6 forward P.J. Tucker also taking the assignment. The Raptors might also use a zone, Casey said.
Antetokounmpo averaged 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.0 assists in four games this year against Toronto.
“We’ve got to bait him to shoot more jumpers,” Carroll said. “I think a thousand of his shot attempts have been layups . . . but he’s also deadly distributing the ball and getting others involved.”