Good or bad, Giannis should keep firing threes
With blood trickling down from his eye, and lonely – probably, since the nearest defender was 20 feet away – Giannis Antetokounmpo gets the catchand-shoot, fourth-quarter three-point shot from a heads-up pass from Wesley Matthews.
Nails it.
It was a shocking stab to the Boston Celtics' heart in the Milwaukee Bucks' 110-107 win in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Wednesday night, and a shut-the-hell-up message to all the critics. Now the Giannis threepointer must belong in Milwaukee lore, right up there with “Bucks In Six.”
Because this is what makes the Giannis three-pointer even more special: So many athletes invent or embellish their naysayers and nonbelievers to boost their own motivation to the point that it has become cliché. But Antetokounmpo doesn't have to imagine the monsters in the closet and under the bed. They're there and they're screaming.
TNT analyst Stan Van Gundy isn't the only one, he's just the most recent one.
Radio reporters. Digital reporters. Impartial reporters and analysts. Basketball purists. Bucks fans. Anti-Bucks fans. Podcasters. Posers.
And the oh-so-many who rushed to delete social media comments ripping the Giannis three-pointer when it blanked, trying to save face when it swished. It has been amusing to watch the dust storms over the audacity of Giannis to keep taking that shot – and for some of us, to enjoy a little smugness in saying, with that sunk three, "I told you so."
And Antetokounmpo's fourth-quarter three – his second made three in the second half – had to be humiliating on some level to the exceptional Celtics with that top-ranked defense. That alone makes it worth it.
But I propose that some of you should join me and love the Giannis three.
And to be abundantly clear: I don't mean the sweet “You Sunk My Battleship” three-pointer that finally hits. I mean the ugly flyover air ball. The wedgies.
The clangers.
And all the cringe-y rebounds from those threes – like fireworks that don't launch – that will take off someone's head if they don't grab it or duck.
I've loved them like a mother loves an ugly pug with a sinus problem.
Here's a few reasons why you can as well: