And as Sullivan told NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner before this Bucks season tipped off, helping Giannis open up his whole offensive repertoire has been as crucial as any mechanical adjustments he’s made: With that said, the overall rewiring of Antetokounmpo’s mindset, and the confidence he has repeatedly shown since going under the wing of shot doctor and Bucks assistant coach Ben Sullivan has been palpable.
In relation to his free throw struggles, it’s a shame that Antetokounmpo’s recent uptick was essentially dashed with the 2019-20 season being paused.
That is still a slight upgrade over what Antetokounmpo had shot from that area of the floor over the last few seasons, but it still remains a sore spot in Antetokounmpo’s overall shot profile that would have continued to be tested before this current hiatus.Ĭonsidering all of this was under the backdrop of Antetokounmpo’s well-known struggles from the free throw line this season, it all goes to show that the hurdles he has made regarding his shot from all levels of the floor, there’s still plenty more to clear.
To be clear, though, that shouldn’t mask the long-standing deficiencies Antetokounmpo has sported when looking to hit shots from the mid-range area where he’s hit 38 percent of his 108 attempts this season. On those types of shots, Antetokounmpo has buried 33 of his 63 fadeaway attempts throughout the year (52.4 percent). The 25-year-old has certainly flirted with trying to develop a worthwhile in-between game to make those opposing teams pay, whether it’s been mid-range shots or a variety of fadeaway and/or turnaround shots to hit over the top of opponents. And the space all 29 other teams cede to the Greek forward extends well within the arc where Antetokounmpo’s jump shot hasn’t always been that smooth. That may be surprising to see Antetokounmpo sport such a consistency at hitting treys without any rhythm, but it proves that the growing confidence he’s shown over the last two seasons especially has been borne out on the court.Įven with those incremental improvements from long distance, opponents have been more than willing to live with Antetokounmpo simply trying to knock down outside shots and whatever results come with that. That’s quite the step up from Antetokounmpo going 15-for-67 on catch-and-shoot attempts from long range (22.4 percent) during his MVP-winning season in 2018-19. It’s on the catch where Antetokounmpo has been surprisingly lethal hitting threes as he’s gone 24-for-61 for the season, good for 39.3 percent. Per NBA.com/stats, 57 of Antetokounmpo’s 83 triples this season have come off the dribble and he’s hit on such attempts at a 28.5 percent clip. This year, though, Antetokounmpo has made significant progress on his shooting stroke from that range of the floor, thanks to his occasional ability to pull up from the top of the key. Of course, there’s no better reference point to the reigning MVP’s shooting struggles than how he’s historically fared from beyond the arc, considering he’s a 28.5 career 3-point shooter.
The Milwaukee Bucks need Rodney Hood to flip the switch.3 takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks’ close win over Houston Rockets.