The Pressure Is All On Giannis
The Bucks made a lot of moves this offseason, making their team a lot better than it was last season. And after 2 straight seasons of disappointing playoff exits, it’s time for Giannis to show his greatness. The 2x MVP has to show us he can lead a team to a title. So now all the pressure is on the Greek Freak to win a title for the city of Milwaukee.
The Bucks had a very eventful offseason as they tried to improve their roster a lot in order to win a title. They made a lot of improvements, and they are as follow:
Trading For Jrue Holiday
Holiday has been one of the most underrated players in the league, and now he gets to show his talents on a real contending team. Holiday is a solid scorer who can space the floor and also be a floor general. He is an excellent defender, capable of guarding the best guards in the league. He is much better than Eric Bledsoe and getting him is quite the upgrade. Now the Bucks even more shot-creation and perimeter weapons. This move really helps the Bucks be less reliant on the Greek Freak.
Signing DJ Augustin
DJ Augustin is a very good backup for the Bucks, and they only got him for $7 Million per year. Augustin is a solid 3-point shooter as he shot 35% last season. He is a decent floor general, with the ability to run the offense with the 2nd unit. I really like this pickup as now with Holiday and Augustin in the back-court, the Bucks get more spacing and consistency than they did with Hill and Bledsoe. Augustin will be one of the Bucks best players off the bench, making them even less Giannis-reliant.
Signing Bobby Portis
Portis is a solid offensive player of the bench for the Bucks. He shot 36% from 3 last season on about 3 attempts per game. So he can space the floor while being a forward. Portis is a solid rebounder and can give some muscle to this Bucks team. This pickup is very good because Portis could be one of the x-factors for the Bucks, and they need some sort of weapons off the bench that take the ease off of Giannis.
The Bucks got significantly better, as this is their roster after free agency:
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Donte DiVincenzo
SF: Khris Middleton
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Brook Lopez
Bench: Augustin, Portis, Bryn Forbes, Pat Connaughton, Torrey Craig
The Bucks bench isn’t great, but they have a couple of guys who are at least competent. I think that the Bucks might want to sign one or two more guys to fill our their roster, but their starting lineup is among the best in the league. So now we can say that Giannis really has a contending team behind him.
I think that Giannis just needs to take more of a backseat. I think that him letting his teammates help him more during the regular season will help in the playoffs. Yeah, Giannis could have 35 and 10 with 3 steals and 2 blocks and the Bucks win 50 or so games. But his teammates don’t get involved like they should during the regular season, and when the Bucks need other contributions during the playoffs, they fail. I think Giannis should be a bit more passive and let his teammates get more confidence over the course of the season, which should in turn help him and the Bucks in the playoffs.
I also think that Mike Budenholzer needs to actually coach Giannis. He needs to make sure that there is player movement so that defenses can’t just stand around and wait for Giannis to penetrate. That’s how the Bucks lost to the Raptors and the Heat these past two seasons. Nobody is moving. I think that adding a shot-creator like Jrue Holiday definitely helps, but Budenholzer needs to find a better system that can work in the playoffs.
Budenholzer also needs to use Giannis differently. Instead of having him have the ball at the top, post him up so he’s harder to double-team. Use him as a screener in the pick and roll to allow him to go downhill unimpeded. Some ideas like that, that can throw curveballs at defenses and make it harder for them to guard Giannis.
Giannis finally has a team that I feel like can win a title. Giannis is a 2x MVP and has nothing more to prove during the regular season. But he needs to let his teammates help him more, and he needs some better coaching from Mike Budenholzer. But all of these things are possible, and if they all happen, then the Bucks have a real chance to win a title, or at least get closer than what they’ve been doing these past few seasons.
I think that if the Bucks don’t win a title or don’t even get close, Giannis should leave. But the Bucks can win a title, and the pressure is on the Greek Freak to deliver. But he’ll need some help, just live everybody does. Can the Bucks finally give him some actual help, or will it be another futile attempt by the Bucks to win a title? We’ll have to wait and see.
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