Magic turn focus toward defending Bucks’ big man
Antetokounmpo is helping Milwaukee to best start since 2001
The Magic have had some defensive lapses and consistency issues during their first five games of the season. While that might be troubling to coach Steve Clifford, he has a bigger concern.
His name is Giannis Antetokounmpo and no matter how you say it or spell it, the English translation is trouble.
Trouble for opposing basketball teams, that is.
The Magic, coming off a disappointing performance during a 128-114 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night, travel to Milwaukee for tonight’s showdown with the man simply known around the NBA as Giannis — pronounced Yawness.
The 6-foot-11, 242-pound forward, whom Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman and General Manager John Hammond were instrumental in landing for the Bucks during their time in Milwaukee, is a force and he’s even stronger this season if the first four games are any indication.
Antetokounmpo averages 29 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists per game and he dropped a triple-double on the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 last week, finishing with 32 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists. He’s the poster boy for the new NBA and he has the Bucks off to their best start since the 2001-02 season at 4-0.
The best thing for Orlando is the Bucks faced Minnesota on Friday night, so perhaps the big man from Greece will be a little tired playing back-to-back games.
“The other thing that’s happened is that acquiring [center Brook] Lopez — they haven’t had the spacing 5s in the past — so now they’re so spread out, it gives Giannis more room to kind of go to work and play and drive and create,” Clifford said.
Clifford said Antetokounmpo is
not the only Milwaukee player Orlando has to worry about. Shooting forward Khris Middleton has gotten off to a great start, as well, averaging 24 points and six rebounds per game.
“They are shooting a ton of 3s and we’re gonna have to be able to be on top of those things,” Clifford said.
Magic swing forwards Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac will be tasked with much of the one-onone defensive assignments on Antetokounmpo, but one player won’t stop him.
“His passing ability is really good, he’s gotten strong and he’s gotten taller since he’s been in the league and he’s starting to develop a jumper,” Gordon said. “So it’s a challenge, but it’s a fun challenge.”
Isaac added: “With him, it has to be a team effort. Obviously one guy has to guard him one-on-one, but we have to help, we have to show bodies in the lane. He’s so long and he has so many ways to finish above the rim and all that, so we have to come at it with a team mindset and collectively keep him at bay.
“Me and A.G., both of us, it’s definitely a personal challenge to keep him at bay and not have to allow so much help from all the other players … so just be focused and understand what he likes to do and where he likes to score and do our best to lock him down.”
Sometimes a coach just has to face the fact that there are players who are going to do their thing, so the focus becomes the other four guys on the floor. The Magic must make sure they don’t send too players to help defend Antetokounmpo, leaving his teammates’ open.
“It’s a big part of it because … he’ll make the right play and when you bring two to the ball … he’s gonna move it right away and they have a lot of skill out on the floor,” Clifford said. “So how much you help off him and keeping the ball out of the post is part of it and when he has the ball on the perimeter and they just [isolate] that’s the difficult one, where he’s gonna have room to play and you’re gonna have to have good decisions with help.”