3 Key Takeaways From the Bucks’ Win Over the Clippers
The Bucks came away with perhaps their biggest and most impressive win of the season yesterday, beating the Clippers 105-100 to move within 1 game of 1st place in the Eastern Conference.
But it wasn’t just that they won, it was how they won. Here are some key takeaways from the big win:
Giannis Is Still Developing Right Before Our Eyes
It always sounds weird to say that a 2-time MVP is “developing,” but that’s really what Giannis is still doing. Remember, the dude is only 26 years old. We already know he can dominate with bully ball and in transition, but he is continuing to improve as a decision-maker, passer, post player, and finesse player — or as I like to say, a PLAYOFF player.
This (along with the other things I’ll be talking about later) isn’t something that only happened in this game, but it has been happening for a while. This game just provided some key examples.
First, let’s talk about the passing and decision-making.
Giannis only finished with 5 assists in this game, but he really had some nice ones in the first half.
(above) Double-teamed by Kawhi and Serge, makes a beautiful no-look pass out to Khris. Splash. This is the type of double team he will be facing a lot in the playoffs again, and he is showing more and more signs of being able to beat it.
Here he drives, does his spin, and then finds himself staring at 4 defenders (as he normally is in the playoffs). Immediately makes a nice no-looker to the corner for a Brook three. Confident, decisive, and on point.
A great cut by Donte here. Once again, Giannis starts to drive into the wall, and then makes a terrific pass to beat it. You love to see it.
Good grief was he throwing some no-look dimes in the first half. Here, he just recognizes that Paul George is sagging into the paint and hits DJ in the corner right in the shooters pocket. Looking like a floor general out there.
And here, they use him as a pick-and-roll ball handler where he draws the attention of both defenders as he drives, and he makes a nice little dump off to Brook rather than forcing up a tough shot.
I’ve been advocating for Khris to be used as the main primary ball handler, but these are all the types of plays that make me more comfortable with Giannis in that role. If he can continue to be smart, decisive, and effective with his passes and his decision-making on drives, it makes me way more confident in his ability to just go and make a play (either passing or scoring).
And here are some examples of his scoring skillset on display yesterday:
(shameless plug of my own tweets here because I’m too lazy to upload the actual gifs)
Look at that FOOTWORK. Not many people realize how much skill that takes.
Giannis is shooting 55% on post ups this year, and is averaging the most points per post up possession of any year of his career so far (1.02 PPP). Again, this isn’t something that only applies to this game — he has been showing it for most of the season.
My one gripe with Giannis yesterday was that he took a few too many threes for my liking (7), but I’m willing to look past that because of how awesome he was overall.
Also, can we talk about that 4th quarter from him?
Put the man in the MVP race.
Give Mike Budenholzer Some Credit
We’re all quick to blame Bud and the coaching when things go wrong, but he also deserves a lot of credit for stuff he has done this year.
One of the main things that sticks out is what he is doing in crunch time of close games. Instead of just giving it to Giannis and making him do something himself, the ball is being put in other players’ (particularly Khris’) hands, with Giannis being used a bit more like Shaq.
The pick-and-roll with Khris as the ball handler and Giannis as the screener has been run a LOT late in close games when the Bucks need a bucket, and it almost always generates a good look for somebody. This should always be the go-to play, and so far this season, it has been. Here’s an example from late in the game yesterday:
Pat doesn’t finish the play and Giannis definitely travels, but you can still see how effective this play is. Giannis draws 2 defenders as a roller, making the defense move and opening up a look for someone else. The execution needs to be better here, but it seems that running this almost always gets somebody open. Here’s 2 more examples of Giannis being used more like a traditional big man late in the 4th quarter yesterday:
This is what you have to try to do in crucial moments. Get Giannis the ball where he’s already in a scoring position instead of making him get there himself. These are all really good signs for the playoffs.
One other thing that stood out late in the game was how Bud put either Giannis or Middleton on Kawhi in the last 4 minutes.
There were back-to-back possessions with just over 4 minutes left where Khris wasn’t in the game and Giannis did not guard Kawhi. On the first one, Giannis had to come over and help Jrue Holiday guard him, and it resulted in an open corner three for Marcus Morris. On the next, Pat Connaughton was left guarding Kawhi, and Kawhi scored easily over him. Bud called timeout, got Khris in the game, and it was clear that Middleton or Giannis was supposed to be on Kawhi at all times.
With Giannis and Khris defending Kawhi and Paul George, the Clippers did not score a single point in the final 4 minutes. Some of this is just due to them missing shots, but part of it is definitely because the Bucks simply put their best defenders on the other team’s best players — something that they didn’t do in the playoffs.
If you’re going to criticize Bud every time he does something wrong, give him credit when he does things right, too. This Bucks team seems much better-suited for the clutch moments that are sure to come in the playoffs.
Overcoming Adversity
One of the biggest parts of the win yesterday was how the Bucks came from behind in the 4th and overcame some adversity. They were just 1-11 when trailing entering the 4th quarter this season before yesterday’s game, but they were able to overcome a 7-point deficit in the final 8:30 against one of the best teams in the league. These are the types of games and wins that help prepare a team for the playoffs, and the Bucks have been in more close games this season than they were the past 2 years.
They’ve faced plenty of adversity from a season standpoint this year— losing 4 of 6 at the end of January and losing 5 in a row in the middle of February — and they have now overcome 4th quarter deficits in 2 consecutive games which has helped them learn to deal with some game adversity. Players have talked all season about how they think it’s a good thing that they face some struggles now and learn to deal with it before the playoffs, and it’s great to see them starting to win some of these games where they fall behind.
The playoffs are never going to be a breeze, so having the regular season be a breeze doesn’t help.
Let’s hope that all of these things can help their transition from regular season to playoffs be smoother than it has been the last 2 years.
