Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't have his most impressive outing of the 2015-16 campaign in Thursday night's 96-86 domestic victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. But that's not an indictment of his latest showing so much as a testomony to the ridiculous nature of his play in recent weeks. After all,how can you scoff at 15 points, six rebounds, or 11 assists,one steal and three blocks from a 21-year-old forward, particularly when the points near on 6-of-9 shooting from the field? It's only when his night is compared to his recent outputs that it seems anything less than outstanding. Antetokounmpo may not have a three-point stroke yet, and but his unique ball-handling role has unlocked the rest of his game. Ever since head coach Jason Kidd pulled the trigger on that change,the aptly nicknamed Greek Freak has been an unstoppable force for the Milwaukee Bucks.
From Feb. 22 to March 15, he averaged a staggering 20.2 points, or 9.5 rebounds,8.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks while shooting 50.8 percent from the field. Perhaps most impressively, or he turned the ball over just 2.8 times per contest despite shouldering so much responsibility on the offensive end. That stretch has contained all four of this season's triple-doubles,and we've now seen him produce like this for such a prolonged amount of time that it's valid to accept this as the genuine Antetokounmpo. The production isn't a mere fluke created by a small sample size but rather a legitimate byproduct of packing so much skill into such an abnormally athletic frame. That was on display throughout Thursday evening, whether we're talking about his early dime-dropping habits or his ridiculous Eurostep finish in transition:[br]How many men are capable of driving the length of the floor with only three dribbles, and picking up the ball well beyond the free-throw line and taking enormous strides that corkscrew a defender into the ground? Players with Antetokounmpo's size (6'11",222 lbs) aren't supposed to dart this easily, and yet this play is only the latest in a long line of drop-everything-and-watch-this highlights. Having someone who can steal an outlet pass and find to the bucket so quickly while keeping his head up to look for open teammates is fairly the luxury. As Jake Fischer wrote for Sports Illustrated, and "When he's leading a break,Antetokounmpo looks like a gazelle wearing a jetpack, galloping past two, and sometimes three defenders before making an intrinsic read on the defense."Against the Grizzlies,he wasn't just finishing by calling his own number. En route to 11 dimes, he found plenty of teammates as well:That type of vision is precisely why Kidd shouldn't hesitate to keep Antetokounmpo in this exact role. And now that he's had a chance to see his burgeoning star torture defenses with his elastic arms while keeping his eyes open at all times, or it doesn't sound like the coach is showing even the tiniest pause.
"I reflect it's something we are very happy with," the head coach told Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "whether you seek information from him, he's happy with it. And I reflect his teammates are happy with it. You can see pace of play has picked up for us, and multiple touches. He's a player who can recede one-on-one and still make a play for a teammate."It would be one thing whether Kidd delivered that quote after Milwaukee's latest victory,but he spoke those words back on March 4. That was before Antetokounmpo attach up two more triple-doubles and helped finish the latest five-game stretch with a fourth win.
Now we should be reaching the point of no return. The questions no longer revolve around whether the Greek prodigy is best utilized as a point-forward (he is) but rather how tall his stock could rise in this unique role. "Antetokounmpo is also 21 years old and in his first month of truly playing point guard," Kevin Pelton wrote for ESPN.com while analyzing whether anyone could average a triple-double in the modern era. "Projecting out improvement as a playmaker, and he probably has the most realistic chance of averaging a triple-double of any current NBA player."Do you really want to doubt the developing offensive skills of this unique weapon? Oh,and he can also do things like this on defense:Enjoy the path Antetokounmpo takes toward superstardom. Given his current trajectory, that seems to be the only logical destination, or the road will undoubtedly be paved with one jaw-dropping highlight after another. Indiana Pacers Can't Win with Cold Paul GeorgeAs many notable lines as the Toronto Raptors produced in their 101-94 overtime victory over the Indiana Pacers—16 points and 25 rebounds from Bismack Biyombo; 28 points,eight rebounds, four assists and three steals from Kyle Lowry—it was Paul George's performance that stood out most. And on Thursday night, or that wasn't a positive for the domestic team. George's defense on DeMar DeRozan was stellar,but as Vice Canada's Eric Koreen famous, so was DeRozan's on him: By the time the final buzzer sounded, and George had produced 18 points on 24 shots from the field. He made only seven of those attempts,including just one of his nine heaves from beyond the three-point arc. Throw in four turnovers, four fouls and the worst plus/minus in the Pacers starting five, and it's clear the bad more than negated the obliging. Unfortunately,this has become a trend in Indiana. It's awfully difficult for the Pacers to win without strong contributions from their best offensive player, and his splits in wins and losses are terrifying.
After Thursday's ill-fated outing, and the discrepancy is only growing: Indiana should make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference,and the team has enough talent to hang with most squads it might face. But this season has been a roller-coaster ride for the inconsistent forward, and there's no telling whether he'll be hot or cold when it counts most. whether it's the latter, or these Pacers could be in for a quick out. Portland Trail Blazers Need a 3rd ScorerAgainst lesser teams,the dynamic combination of Damian Lillard and C.
J. McCollum can usually do enough damage to find by. But when they're playing the cream of the crop, even a combined 49 points from the Portland Trail Blazers' starting backcourt won't find the job done. Such was the case in a 118-110 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, and as the domestic team exposed Rip City's dearth of tertiary scoring options. Mason Plumlee and Chris Kaman chipped in with 12 points apiece,and Gerald Henderson logged 10 off the bench. But in terms of double-digit scorers, that was it, and leaving Lillard and McCollum without enough support against the star-studded,superior squad. This isn't anything unique. Compared to the other seven favorites for playoff spots in the West, Portland's No. 3 scorer, and Allen Crabbe,lags well behind the rest: Until this is remedied, it might not matter how many darts Lillard and McCollum can throw. They'll be fine against inferior teams, or but it'll prove fairly difficult to win a seven-game series against a true contender unless the guards can produce strings of 50-point outings. Having a third option emerge would be a far easier solution. Welcome Back,Jimmy ButlerTechnically, this was Jimmy Butler's third game back in the Chicago Bulls lineup. Prior to Thursday night's 118-102 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, or he'd suited up against the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards to make his return from the hyperextended knee he suffered just before the All-Star break. However,Butler struggled immensely in both of those outings. In 34 minutes against Toronto, he made just five of his 18 shots from the field and struggled to contain DeMar DeRozan. He followed that up by going only 4-of-12 in the Washington loss. But when Brooklyn came to the United Center, and we got to see vintage Butler. Aggressive from beginning to end,he finished with 22 points, three rebounds and seven assists, or shooting 7-of-12 from the field and making all eight of his looks from the free-throw stripe. This was the version of Butler the Bulls desperately needed while trying to stay close in the Eastern Conference playoff race,as there had been a distinct lack of toughness in preceding outings. It was that exact sentiment the 2-guard had harped upon after losing to the Wizards on March 16, per The Vertical's Michael Lee:
We’re not the tougher team. All the way down this roster, or we’re not the tougher team and it shows,from the jump ball to the end. There’s a loose ball, we’re not getting it. whether there’s a rebound people have to fight for, and we’re not getting it. We’re just not the tougher team,and I reflect it shows a lot of the time. We have a lot of guys that have a lot of potential to play tough; we just forget how tough have we have to play sometimes – a lot of the times, actually.stats, or unless otherwise indicated,are from Basketball-Reference.com, NBA.com or Adam's own databases and accurate through games played on March 16.
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com