No ordinary point guard
Antetokounmpo a nightmare matchup
Imagine Giannis Antetokounmpo in delivery mode.
The Milwaukee Bucks are not imagining these days, with the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo anointed this week as the team’s point guard of the present and future.
He can deliver with dunks, points and assists, not to mention blocks and steals. See him Eurostepping through opposing defenses and going foul line to foul line in three dribbles.
And he can be a nightmare matchup for opponents when he gets comfortable in his new role.
Make no mistake, however. Antetokounmpo is no ordinary point man.
He will handle the ball and initiate the offense, but the Greek Freak still will be defending a bigger player, not the opposing point guard. On Wednesday night, he opened the game defending 7-foot Phoenix Suns center-forward Tyson Chandler.
“I’m not into labeling him as a point guard,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “The more playmakers you have and in today’s game the more shooters you have on the floor, the better chance you have of winning.
“He’s going to guard the 3 (small forward) or 4 (power forward). Switching late in the (shot) clock, he can end up on a smaller guy. That doesn’t change our defensive assignments of what we’ve done all year.”
Still, it’s a revolutionary move for the Bucks. Kidd said it started with Antetokounmpo rebounding the ball on the defensive end and pushing it without waiting for the point guard, something Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker also have done.
“Seeing Giannis take that and do well with it, we thought the next step was for Giannis on makes to bring it up and start the offense,” Kidd said. “That goes with being a leader, and you have to make sure everybody is touching the ball. He’s able to do that.”
The 21-year-old Antetokounmpo is embracing his role. Kidd’s endorsement serves to affirm the progress the young player has made while also telling the team the direction it will be heading next season.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Parker said. “He’s been doing a real good job being our leader, and he’s just going to get better from now on.”
Antetokounmpo has posted four triple-doubles — the most by any Bucks player in a single season — while getting accustomed to his new duties over the past seven weeks.
“I appreciate the fact coach (Kidd) trusts me as the point guard,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’ve got a lot of things I’ve got to work on.”
A good example in Wednesday’s game came when Antetokounmpo made a simple handoff to Middleton, who was redhot in the first half. Middleton calmly drained a three-pointer from Stephen Curry distance.
“Time and score is something big for a young player,” Kidd said. “Understanding who has shot the ball the last couple times. Who is hot; who is cold. Who do you think needs to touch the ball. He’s done a really good job of us talking on the sideline, saying, ‘We need to get someone a touch.’”
When the Los Angeles Lakers visited Milwaukee in February, Kobe Bryant talked to Antetokounmpo about practicing his jump shot in the summer and getting more consistent with it.
Antetokounmpo said that’s on his summer to-do list, which is growing longer.
“I’m a smart kid and a smart player,” Antetokounmpo said. “The thing I’ve got to do is get a lot of jump shots. My ball handling has to get a lot better now.
“My passing ability, and just get stronger. Those four things are the most important things.”
The Bucks are moving in the direction of other NBA teams that use multiple playmakers. Look at Golden State and San Antonio, Atlanta and Charlotte. The Warriors have Curry, Draymond Green, Shaun Livingston and Klay Thompson, all capable of handling the ball and scoring.
The Bucks will be searching for more perimeter shooters in the off-season, players to complement the slashing and driving abilities of Parker and Antetokounmpo.
If they can improve their defense and find shooters to relieve the pressure on Middleton and complement the rest of the roster, the Bucks could become relevant in the balanced Eastern Conference.
Phoenix Suns interim coach Earl Watson said he thinks Kidd is thinking outside of the box with Antetokounmpo.
“I think J-Kidd is developing him ( Antetokounmpo) on the perimeter to make decisions and eventually to the post, to be like a point forward out of the post,” Watson said. “He’s looking at the other players around. That 2-guard position is going to be very intriguing, how they solve that moving around Giannis. He’s on to something.”
The move also has made Antetokounmpo a more central part of everything the Bucks are doing while taking advantage of his remarkable skill set.
“I want to come back and try to be more vocal, become a leader of this team,” Antetokounmpo said, “and try to push this team as far as we can go.”