@Tschmack posted:What’s key is Middleton and Giannis need to stay healthy. They don’t have much behind them but honestly they didn’t this past season either.
Of course... if the Lakers lose LeBron or AD or both, they aren’t contenders either.
But what is important is that Giannis rounds out his game. A counter move to the wall. A confident step back, pull up, jump hook, baseline turnaround... I think these are more important than the three point shot.
Bur the other guys must improve, too. Middleton ball handling and shot selection, making the smarter, higher % play.
We’ll also see if there’s something to the Budenholzer defensive scheme. The Bucks have added athleticism on the perimeter, better on ball defenders. I suspect they don’t plan to change the drop P&R defense- instead relying upon the improved athleticism to chase the ball rotations down to contest the shots they couldn’t get to last year.
And when teams go small, the Bucks can go small too and still have Giannis on the floor. In fact, if Giannis improves his post up game, and teams go small, he should feast. And that how you win in the playoffs- you can counter their counter and still dictate how the game is played. Miami did this in the playoffs, and they won’t be able to do that now.