The Milwaukee Bucks have not been good on the road this year, but Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. took advantage of their matchup against the injured, undersized Mavericks Saturday night to leave American Airlines Center with a 132-117 road W.
On the season, the Bucks are now 13-16 away from home (20-9 at the Fiserv Forum). More importantly, the victory nudges them a half-game past the Pacers for 4th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
En route to Milwaukee’s sixth win in seven games, Giannis again stuck to a 32-minute restriction, but it was his fourth time in a row reaching that mark. If his progress continues, he should be a full-go in no time.
Even on a restriction he has been his usual productive self, going for 29 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists against Dallas–all team-highs. He also made 11 of 13 free throws.
After the game, he let reporters in on the Doc Rivers demand that has the offense humming perhaps the best it has all season.
Milwaukee Bucks’ New Strat Maximizes Giannis Antetokounmpo-Damian Lillard Duo
The Bucks are 5-1 since the All-Star break and 4-1 in games featuring both Giannis and Damian Lillard. In that time, Rivers has changed the way he handles rotations, no longer staggering his two stars to minimize periods where neither is on the court.
While this means more possessions facilitated by Kyle Kuzma or Kevin Porter Jr, it also means that the the team’s star duo spends even more time together. Doc really likes the way the two-man game is working between Dame and Giannis–how does the Greek Freak feel about it?
“Look, we have to play with one another,” Giannis said. “He’s been kind of pressuring us, forcing us to play with one another. At the end of the day we have to understand that we are threats. People are worrying about Dame coming off the handoff and shooting the three. People are worrying about me going downhill. People are worrying about me when I set a screen and roll hard to the rim.”
While Giannis has been working back from the calf strain that knocked him out through the break, and although Lillard has not been at his most efficient lately, the offense just looks alive and is moving like a well-oiled machine.
Saturday in Dallas, Lillard tied his post-break high with 28 points, in addition to 6 boards and 6 dimes.
Star Chemistry Multiplies Opportunities for Teammates
When you have two stars like Giannis and Dame, of course the game plan revolves around them. But playing off each other to maximize the league’s most ferocious two-headed monster also frees up the rest of the offense.
Whether an easy lob or open corner three, “We can make so many actions off the two-man game,” Antetokounmpo continued. “And right now I feel like we’re embracing it.”
With snipers like Taurean Prince (45.7 3P%) , Gary Trent, and AJ Green (both 42.3%), opposing defenses can’t leave them open without paying the price.
An excellent slasher and capable drive-and-kicker, Kuzma provides a skillset and energy this team was missing and further challenges defenders to protect all areas of the court without overcommitting inside or out.
Of course, in crunch time, the Bucks still have two of the NBA’s leading scorers to lean on. And Lillard and Antetokounmpo know when to put the team on their shoulders. “We know the last five minutes, he told me, ‘Hey, come get me, it’s me and you now.’ Or he tells me, ‘Get in the post.’ ‘I need the double, I’m right here.’ We talk to one another and we know what time it is, when it’s go time,” Giannis said.
Combining for 56.3 points, 16.7 rebounds and 13.1 assists per game, these two give Milwaukee a luxury few rosters have. Aggressively stacking their production, rather than staggering it, has proven a successful strategy. As long as the Bucks continue playing as they have been, there seems no reason to move off it.
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