OKC Thunder: 3 keys to sweeping Bucks this season
OKC Thunder key number 2: Use the Giannis template
In each of the last seasons, the Milwaukee Bucks have produced the best record in basketball and their star player also won the Most Valuable Player Award in those seasons.
Part of the reason the Bucks feasted in the season was the ease with which Antetokounmpo reached the rim, surrounding him with 3-point specialists and getting out in transition for easy buckets.
However, playoff basketball shifts to more concentration on slowing the pace, increasing defensive effort (particularly at limiting fast break and transition plays), and forcing players into offense they are less comfortable with.
However, what works in regular-season play doesn’t always equate to the postseason.
Case in point, two postseasons ago Nick Nurse and the Raptors employed a defensive strategy to create a wall to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo. It served to force the Bucks to adapt because Antetokounmpo could no longer roll like a freight train to the basket. Likewise, this past summer in the bubble the Heat utilized a similar strategy.
The resulting effect? The Raptors won four in a row on route to a title and the Heat took down the Bucks 4-1 moving on to the Conference and NBA Finals. This season, the elite teams are already employing this strategy and the effects are palpable.
| Season | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 72 | 32.8 | 17.3 | .578 | 2.8 | .256 | 14.5 | .641 | .599 | 9.5 | .729 | 10.3 | 12.5 | 5.9 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 27.7 |
| 2019-20 | 63 | 30.4 | 19.7 | .553 | 4.7 | .304 | 15.0 | .631 | .589 | 10.0 | .633 | 11.4 | 13.6 | 5.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 29.5 |
| 2020-21 | 27 | 33.6 | 18.4 | .563 | 4.0 | .290 | 14.4 | .638 | .594 | 9.9 | .642 | 9.7 | 11.4 | 5.8 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 28.2 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/19/2021.
While Antetokounmpo is still averaging a double-double of 28.2 points and 11.4 rebounds plus 5.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks it’s not equating to the win percentage of the previous two seasons.
On Valentine’s Day, Giannis had a monster line with a triple-double of 24 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists plus three each of steals and blocks. Yet even this herculean effort wasn’t enough to push the Bucks over the top.