Bucks look to break the NBA by turning Greek Freak into Magic Johnson

By foxsports
Published

Giannis Antetokounmpo is either the future of the NBA — a positionless metaphor who transcends the traditional roles and responsibilities basketball players were always meant to occupy — or a physical outlier: A unique specimen that we've never seen before and will very well may never see again.

Or we can open Door C, as the Milwaukee Bucks appear ready and willing to do, and witness Antetokounmpo continue as point guard and potentially turn into something less complex but all the more devastating: Magic Johnson 2.0.

Point guards are not meant to be as tall, long, fast and athletic as the 6-foot-11, 222-pound Antetokounmpo, which means opposing point guards will not be able to guard him. Throw someone like Russell Westbrook or Steph Curry on the Greek Freak and Milwaukee will just feed their walking-unfair-advantage on the block, forcing opposing teams to double up and place themselves in an uncomfortable spot. 

Flip things around and throw a beefier wing or forward on the seven-footer, and Antetokounmpo will inevitably wreak havoc from the outside with his increasingly quick first step. 

It's all very scary: Antetokounmpo is still only 21 years old, and he is getting more and more efficient as his role gets larger and larger. Since his rookie season, Giannis' usage percentage has gone up every year while his turnover rate has decreased. 

But the plan has its downside, too. Antetokounmpo's assist numbers aren't very impressive, and he still can't shoot. To be a primary ball-handler in today's league, a jump shot that isn't respected from a high-volume perimeter player can only lead an offense so far. It kills spacing and narrows the driving/passing lanes that are necessary for guys like Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker.

Giannis is only shooting 19.5 percent beyond the arc this season — which is actually better than where he was at a year ago. He may get by with this in the regular season, but teams will schematically exploit this weakness in the playoffs. They'll pack the paint and force jumper after jumper. 

Either way, it's an exciting development, and with Jason Kidd — one of the five best all-around point guards who ever lived — as Milwaukee's head coach, Giannis' NBA evolution should be a fascinating story line to follow over the next few years.