Will Giannis Ever Realize He's Not LeBron and Other Questions

To say that the Milwaukee Bucks have not had a great start to the season is an understatement. It's bad enough that Doc Rivers has already tried growing a goatee (first time ever? I can't remember a single other time when Doc had facial hair) to distract the media. It's not working.

The Bucks have a lot of problems. As Bill Simmons and Kirk Goldsberry noted on Simmons' podcast today, the Bucks are 26th in defense right now, and that could prove to be a near fatal flaw. It's a flaw that getting Khris Middleton back won't fix. But I don't think they'll be that bad defensively all season, they'll likely get back to where their middle-of-the-pack performance once they find a better rhythm with Taurean Prince and Gary Trent Jr.

The thing I am not even remotely bullish on is Giannis Antetokounmpo ever learning how to once again play team basketball. I want to revisit something I wrote just before last season started:

The other big question I have for Giannis is can he give up the ball? He has led the NBA in usage percentage in two of the past four seasons, including last season, when his usage percentage was a whopping 38.8% – 1.2% more than Luka Doncic, who is routinely derided for having the ball too much. Lillard has historically had the ball far less, just 29.2% for his career, but last season was his career high at 33.8%. Lillard has been brought in to save Milwaukee's offense. The main problem with said offense is that when Giannis has the ball, his decision-making process is fairly predictable. If he won't cede the ball to Lillard, it's going to be tough for them to improve.

Milwaukee's offensive rating in 2023-2024 was slightly improved from 2022-2023, but they were three wins worse, and I think that undersells what a bad showing they had last season. A lot of excuses were made, about how Giannis and Damian Lillard didn't have enough time to gel, that Giannis wasn't used to running so much pick and roll, and to give it time. Well, they've had time. They didn't spend any time together this summer, and Giannis is still doing all of the same things. Mainly, dominating the ball. In the 2016-2017 season, Giannis became an All-Star for the first time. Since then, the only person Giannis wants to have the ball is Giannis:

To me, this is even worse in context. Joel Embiid and Luka Dončić are dominant offensive forces who can beat you at all three levels – at the rim, in mid-range, and from distance. Giannis isn't. He can only beat you at the rim. Embiid and Luka also haven't had the consistent presence of someone as good as Khris Middleton, which Giannis always has. Devin Booker is much the same. Before Chris Paul arrived, it was Booker and nobody else. The rest of the players on this list are either point guards or LeBron James, who is a point guard in a power forward's body.

Giannis sticks out like a sore thumb, and not in a good way. When he gets the ball, he is only trying to do one thing – bully his way to the hoop for a layup or a dunk. Every once in awhile, he mixes in a jump shot in an attempt to keep people honest, but he hits so few of them that this almost never works. Any assists he pick up are a virtue of dump offs when the defense collapses to stop him and leaves other players unguarded. His assists are not because he has good court vision or is looking to get anyone else involved in the offense.

Giannis' strategy works for the first three quarters, and then not in the fourth. That's why Lillard was brought in. But you'll also note Lillard high up on that list. It can't just be the Giannis show for three quarters and then Dame takes over in the fourth. Until Giannis learns to vary his repertoire, work more pick and roll, and most importantly, share the ball, he'll never win another title in Milwaukee. He may not ever win another playoff series, or even get there, as I think he's a serious candidate to be traded this season. No matter where he plays though, Giannis is not a point guard, and he is not LeBron, and the sooner he realizes that, the better.

Will Michael Malone ever learn to trust his bench?

A lot of people have been talking about the Nuggets' struggles this week. The games they won they almost lost, and it looks like more responsibility is going to fall to Nikola Jokić this season. Coach Michael Malone is either a) already feeling that pressure, or b) one of the most stubborn people alive. But through four games, he just is not trusting his bench. Through four games, his team is playing their bench an average of 20 minutes less per game than their opponent:

This is headed to a bad place if it keeps up. Malone doesn't seem inclined to play Hunter Tyson or Jalen Pickett at all, even though they were early second-round picks who seemed like they could be competent NBA players. Perhaps Malone can impress upon his front office to trade, sell, or cut those players in favor of bringing in more veterans he will play (he doesn't seem inclined to play Vlatko Čančar or Zeke Nnaji either), but if he doesn't expand his rotation and/or play the bench guys he will play some heavier minutes his starting lineup is going to run out of gas before the end of the regular season.

Either way, these first four games are troubling in this sense. Denver's biggest problem in the playoffs last season was that they – specifically Jokic – ran out of gas against the Timberwolves. Instead of trying to pace things, they've doubled down on their starting lineup. And that starting lineup includes two players (Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.) with extensive injury histories. It just isn't smart, even if these two overtime wins help them find their groove.

Do you realize how many different types of players Jayson Tatum guards in a single game?

In the Milwaukee game, Jayson Tatum covered Brook Lopez – a player five inches taller and 72 lbs. heavier according to Basketball-Reference – and stiffed him in the post multiple times. At another point in the game, he was out on the perimeter covering Damian Lillard, and he notably blocked one of Lillard's three-point attempts. He didn't fare as well when covering Giannis, but he covered him, as well as the Bucks' wing players.

When you're thinking about who the best defenders in the NBA are, I urge you to think about defensive versatility. Jayson Tatum can guard anyone on the court at any time, and that is something that you cannot say about just about every other player in the league.

Remember when we doubted Joe Mazzulla's coaching acumen?

The way Mazzulla built up Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser into linchpins of the bench last season was incredible. He looks to be trying to do the same thing with Jordan Walsh this season. Over and over, Mazzulla is doing a great job of putting his players in the best position to succeed, which is something that Ime Udoka absolutely did not do here in Boston, and is not doing in Houston (No. 3 pick in the Draft Reed Sheppard has played 38 minutes in four games, and has scored just 10 points Udoka's Rockets this season. Sure!!!!).

It may have taken longer than people wanted given the Celtics' championship aspirations, but Mazzulla was absolutely the right person for the job, better than Ime Udoka, and better than Will Hardy. Brad Stevens was right, as he usually is.