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Leading up to the Milwaukee Bucks’ 125-91 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday at Fiserv Forum, the big story of the series was Giannis Antetokounmpo’s free-throw routine.
Fans first drew attention to the two-time MVP’s unusually long regimen at the line in Miami, where the now-common count erupted through the stands before Giannis released the ball.
After hearing about it throughout Antetokounmpo’s first- and second-round matchups against the Heat and Brooklyn Nets, the league dumped fuel on the fire when it admitted in a Last Two Minutes report that he should’ve been called for two 10-second violations late in Game 1.
After going for 25 points, nine boards and six assists in 29 minutes of this 34-point drubbing of the Hawks on Friday, it’s time to move on.
The nitpicking of Antetokounmpo’s routine and his 56.2 percent conversion rate at the line has clouded a playoff-long dominance that suggests he may be the best player still standing.
Thanks to highly publicized team flameouts in 2019 and 2020, Giannis’ two MVP awards weren’t enough to establish that. Now, with playoff averages of 28.9 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game—and with Kawhi Leonard still nursing a knee injury out West—it’s an easier argument to make.
No one in league history has matched or exceeded those marks over a single playoff run. And by the way, Giannis’ career playoff numbers are unprecedented too.
In today’s take-hungry media culture, the focus is often more on a player’s shortcomings than anything else. We’ve gotten so used to Giannis’ gaudy numbers that missed threes, long free-throw routines and Milwaukee’s four playoff losses seem to be getting more attention than his absurd production and a relatively clear path to a title.
The Los Angeles Clippers are the only team left that had better championship odds than the Bucks in the days leading up to the playoffs. And, as already mentioned, their best player remains out. And even if Leonard is able to come back, there have to be questions about the strength and reliability of that sprained right knee.
There are certainly arguments to be made for a healthy Kawhi or Paul George. Chris Paul is showing his ability to seize control of a game, and Devin Booker has had some incredibly productive nights. After Game 1 of this series, plenty were rightfully extolling Trae Young.
No one on that list has won an NBA MVP award, let alone two. No one on that list has the statistical profile of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with a dash of extra assists. None of those players’ teams come anywhere near Milwaukee’s 71.4 winning percentage over the last three seasons.
It’s probably fair for prognosticators to be gun-shy about picking the Bucks, especially after the last two postseasons and this series opener against Atlanta. At a certain point, though, it’s hard to ignore what they and Giannis are doing.
In Game 2, Giannis was 11-of-15 inside of the three-point line. He attacked the paint with the strength of a freight train and the gracefulness of…a deer.
The first-quarter highlight above will be the most common from this blowout, but it was far from Antetokounmpo’s only awe-inspiring move.
In the second quarter, he spun into the paint, stopped on a dime and scored on Clint Capela with a traditional up-and-under.
In the third, after outletting the ball to Khris Middleton, Giannis hit some kind of turbo booster to fly from around three-quarters court to the three-point line (and past multiple Hawks), where he caught the ball, took two giant strides and finished around Bogdan Bogdanovic.
He was 0-of-3 from three, but he wasn’t settling for that shot nearly as much as he has in other games. Atlanta clearly planned to give him some space when he caught the ball outside, and Giannis generally used that as a runway to the paint rather than an invitation to shoot.
There is some value in keeping defenses honest (just ask Philadelphia 76ers fans), but the more aggressive Giannis is, the more effective he is.
“Every time he gets the ball below the free-throw line, he is unstoppable,” Charles Barkley said on Inside the NBA.
On the air, he and Shaquille O’Neal have long fought against the ongoing three-point revolution, but it’s hard to disagree with their insistence that Antetokounmpo focus on what he can do inside.
Seemingly every rotation player on the Bucks had struggled from the outside heading into Game 2, but that was bound to change at some point. For Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez and Pat Connaughton, who combined to shoot 9-of-12 from three on Friday, it did. A breakout should still be on the way for Khris Middleton.
If Milwaukee can get anywhere near its regular-season level from deep (it shot 38.9 percent from three compared to 30.9 percent in the playoffs), it should be enough to balance what Giannis brings as a supercharged slasher.
Scheme and numbers aside, though, this postseason presents the opportunity for a familiar NBA character arc.
Like Michael Jordan, LeBron James or other stars before him, Giannis has had to take his playoff lumps. Cases like Magic Johnson (who won a title as a rookie) or Larry Bird (who won his first in Year 2) are rare. After 2019 and 2020, Giannis has his battle scars. And that experience should serve him well against a relatively inexperienced field.
This final four still feels unpredictable, but the majority of the Phoenix Suns and Hawks are already further in the postseason than they’ve ever been. The Clippers have some individual players with deep playoff runs. But Kawhi is hurt, and the organization is in its first conference finals.
Perceptions can change from game to game during the playoffs, but Giannis suddenly feels like as safe a bet as anyone.
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