History Repeats Itself

The Bucks caught déjà vu last night. For the second time in history, the franchise started the season 7-0. And for the second time in history, the string of wins was severed by the hands of the Boston Celtics. It was an exciting game. Giannis’ 33 points and 11 rebounds were not enough to carry Milwaukee to a win. The Bucks have been relying too heavily on the 3-ball this season. Everyone knows when you live by the three, you die by the three. Milwaukee shot only 31% from behind the arc, while the Celtics made 44% of their 3pt attempts. Put simply, the Bucks need to improve and maintain their long ball percentage to find continued success.


On the other side of the court, Milwaukee’s defense has shined under Coach Bud. Putting Giannis at the center of a lengthy defense has forced opponents to settle for pull up jumpers and contested threes. For the first time in what feels like forever, the Bucks have a stingy defense. Through eight games they have held their opponents to an average of 104 points - 5th best in the NBA. But the most exciting part of the defense is how it lends to the transition game. With Giannis eating up most of the boards, he’s able to push the floor and finish at the rim.


As we expected, Giannis has shown he’s a candidate for MVP. He’s averaging 26 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists per game. Numbers like these only add to the fact that he’s leading a mediocre team to seven straight wins.


Coming into the year there were a lot of reports around Giannis’ workouts. Most of the reports discussed him working on his perimeter shooting. We are now eight games into the season, and its clear that Giannis still cannot shoot from three-point land. He has made only one of his 17 attempts. But what we have seen from the Greek is an improved ability to blow past defenders on the arch. Nobody in the league has locked him down yet, let alone been able to stay in front of him.