As he put together back-to-back MVP seasons, Giannis Antetokounmpo was quite open about how he wanted to play on the offensive end of the floor. Following the Bucks’ first deep postseason run in his first MVP season, Antetokounmpo candidly told The Athletic about how the strength he gained between his fifth and sixth seasons made him feel as though he could just “go and dunk it” on a lot of possessions.
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Following a season-high 47 points against the Trail Blazers in April, Antetokounmpo joked that while he is always trying to work on his game, “if I can get into the paint 20 out of 20 times, I’ll get into the paint 20 times.” For Antetokounmpo, the preference is always getting to the basket and dominating the paint.
Reminded of some of his previous thoughts following his first career playoff triple-double (20 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists) in the Bucks’ 120-103 Game 4 first-round playoff victory against the Miami Heat on Saturday, Antetokounmpo wanted to first ask for a quick clarification on the thoughts he shared previously.
“When did I say that? Last year?” Antetokounmpo asked.” There’s no way I said it this year.”
His immediate visceral reaction to a reminder of those previous thoughts was a strong indicator of just how much things have changed for the Bucks this season.
Before twisting his ankle in Game 4 and missing the conclusion of the Bucks’ second-round 2020 playoff series against the Heat, Antetokounmpo tried to drive straight through the stout wall of defenders to keep him from the rim. He turned the ball over, picked up charges and took a physical beating. The Bucks’ offense floundered and they lost the series.
On Saturday, Antetokounmpo had 13 assists before he scored a layup with 10 minutes, 42 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter for 10 points and the playoff triple-double, the franchise’s first since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1970) and Paul Pressey (1986) accomplished the feat.
“There’s growth in basketball,” Antetokounmpo said. “I try to affect the game in any way I can and I’m blessed enough to — I can affect the game defensively, I can pass the ball. There are going to be days where I can be dominant and I’m mature enough to understand there’s going to be days where I’m going to be able to do it and there are going to be days where I’m not going to be able to do it.”
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While the Bucks made significant personnel changes in the last year and the new players on the roster made a significant impact in the series, the playoff outcome against the Heat this season was different because of how the Bucks evolved as a team. They handle adversity better and seem to be cool and calm in pressure-packed situations and that was on full display in their Game 4 win.
In two consecutive postseasons, the Bucks did not have an answer for “the wall” teams built against Antetokounmpo. On Saturday, the Bucks made it look easy.
The Heat frustrated the Bucks in the first half by mixing in some zone defense and building the wall just like they did last season, which led them to a seven-point halftime lead. Rather than panic and try to break down the wall by running through it and picking up offensive fouls, Antetokounmpo remained patient and found his teammates as the Bucks made their comeback in the third quarter.
“Miami is a great team, very disciplined team,” Antetokounmpo said. “They’re always going to be there. They don’t relax. There’s not a play that there is going to be a wall and then the second play, there is not going to be a wall. They’re going to be there for 48 minutes.
“That’s what makes Miami a great defensive team and that’s what makes them great, but at the end of the day, guys were right there. Bobby (Portis) was wide open. Bryn (Forbes) was wide open. Pat (Connaughton) was wide open. Khris (Middleton) was wide open at times and I think that’s the maturity of being able to affect the game in multiple ways and not just go and get in the paint and dunk it.”
Those shooters were open because of the new offense installed at the start of the season, which put a man in “the dunker” spot at all times and lengthened the distance between Antetokounmpo and open shooters. Look at how much ground Trevor Ariza needs to cover to get out to Forbes on the 3-pointer that capped the Bucks’ 20-4 run, which put them in control:
“Don’t get me wrong, if I can dunk it every single play, I’ll dunk it every single play,” Antetokounmpo said. “But just being mature and having my head up and looking for guys when they’re open, it was big for us tonight. It was big for us the whole series. I tried to do that last year also, but man, this year, guys were knocking down shots.
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“It was beautiful to watch. BP (Bobby Portis) was fucking amazing. Bryn was amazing. Jrue (Holiday) was amazing. Khris was amazing. Whoever I threw the ball, they were just making everything. PJ was amazing. And Brook (Lopez) just being a presence down there. Once they built the wall, there was a tower behind the wall named Brook that was wide-open every single time. He was just so big in the paint, so dominant in the paint and we were able to try to punish them every single possession.”
The Bucks’ growth and maturity were not just limited to what they did offensively either.
One year after failing to keep up with the seemingly endless cutting of the Heat offense and finding no answers to slow down Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic, the Bucks shut down the Heat.
For the series, Butler averaged 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game and made just 29.7 percent of his shots, one year after averaging 23.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game on 53.2 percent shooting against the Bucks.
Similarly, after putting up 17.2 points (60 percent shooting), 12.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game against the Bucks in the second round last season, Bam Adebayo averaged just 15.5 points per game on 46.4 percent shooting, as well as 9.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
Tactically, the major change was moving Antetokounmpo to Butler, which kept the Heat star from using his physicality to get where he wanted on the floor and making plays. But to Lopez, the Bucks defended the Heat better this season because of an improved mindset.
“Aside from all X’s and O’s, I just thought our mentality was so great this year,” Lopez said after a 25-point, 12-rebound performance on Saturday. “We came in with our game plan and everything like that, but above all, we wanted to outwork and outphysical them, have greater energy. And you know, again, Something else coach wrote on the board before every game, ‘Don’t expect anything, don’t beg, just go out there, leave it on the floor.’
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“It’s our team, the five of us on the floor, the 11 other players, the coaching staff, we’re all we have and regardless of what the refs do, the other team does, we gotta go out there and be ourselves each and every night.”
With that mindset, the Bucks managed to discombobulate Miami, even when the Heat had an advantage.
All series long, the Heat saw Lopez or Antetokounmpo waiting for them at the rim and couldn’t figure out how to beat it, which led to some frustration from the Heat and even a few moments where they lost their cool.
As Game 2 unraveled for the Heat, they started to foul Antetokounmpo to try to frustrate him. Ariza wrapped up Antetokounmpo on a layup and pushed off of Antetokounmpo to get back up after both had collapsed to the ground and Nemanja Bjelica took Antetokounmpo to the ground on another foul in the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo never reacted and rolled his eyes at both attempts to rile him up. The same thing occurred in the fourth quarter of Game 4 as Dragic and Middleton got tangled up fighting for a rebound.
Heat BIG mad they've become the bubble frauds. #FearTheDeer | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/elxZippP1I
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) May 29, 2021
Following the game, Middleton (20 points, 11 rebounds) called it a dirty play, but also explained that he knew what Dragic was trying to do.
“I just know some things are more important than a personal battle,” Middleton said. “So, just don’t worry about it, laugh it off and continue to worry about the game.”
In the end, Middleton stayed focused and the Bucks took care of business in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Heat by 11 in the period.
One season after feeling helpless as they struggled to figure out how to score against the Heat and couldn’t consistently get defensive stops, the Bucks throttled the Heat in Game 4 and eliminated them from the postseason. The Heat are not the team they were last season, but they did present the best possible first-round test of everything the Bucks have been working on during the regular season.
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And the Bucks aced it.
“Despite wins and losses in the regular season, whatever the end result was on one particular night, we definitely felt we got better and learned a lot throughout the regular season,” Lopez said. “We had a lot of new bodies, a new offense to really get used to, so there were a lot of adjustments to be made and we knew all of that was for this time. Peaking at the right moment, we really feel like we’re doing that and we still feel like we’re getting better and improving each and every single night.”
After the game, the Bucks could have dwelled on the redemption of beating the team that beat them in the playoffs last season after the game, but they didn’t spend much time savoring the victory. Instead, they started to think about what comes next.
“We got a long way to go,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It’s the first round of the playoffs. And I think there’s gotta be a humility, a humbleness, an attitude or a mindset to get better. We’ve advanced in the first round. Whoever we play next, we got to have a similar focus, a similar edge, willingness to play with each other, play together, all the things that we just did. It means nothing if we don’t keep doing it going forward.”
(Photo: Issac Baldizon / NBAE via Getty Images)
