as great as Giannis' stats are, there is a clear FORMULA to beat him and his teams

[Axe]

I want to see it happen. Curry was fun to hate and Giannis needs a reason.

Oh dear god. No please.

[STATUTORY]

To be fair LeBron was much better than Giannis right now. Better shooter, better IQ, and much better passer. There was more dimension to him. But everything else is spot on. All you need to do is zone up on his drive, and his constant traveling. Build a wall. He’s been rendered borderline useless the past several years.

That’s why Jordan and Kobe are just the perfect Apex predators.

They’re big guards, that can blow by the defenders, finish at the rim, but also had efficient post game and jump shots from mid range or even deep if necessary to create more unpredictability against the defense. They also didn’t need the ball in their hand constantly to have a presence on the court

they really don't make them like MJ and Kobe anymore.

[MrFonzworth]

Oh dear god. No please.

Why not? They won't win anything.

[AussieSteve]

Khris Middleton as your number 2 and Bledsoe as your point guard isn't getting it done I don't care who you are

Give Giannis a Lillard or Kyrie and he'd 3 peat, guy is a competitor

Giannis' cast gets underated imo

Middleton is a genuine all star, averaging 20+ with great shooting numbers as a 2nd option. Bledsoe had back to back 20+ ppg seasons before coming to the Bucks 2 years ago. Lopez is a former AS with a bunch of 20ppg seasons to his name. This team can score outside of Giannis. They're also are deep.

[Kblaze8855]

Oh dear god. No please.

Im waiting for the to lose and him to tell the bucks he won’t sign back and the warriors to send Wiggins(salary match) and their #1 their year and Minnesota’s next year for him. A top 3-4 pick and likely top 10-12 pick and Wiggins on a short deal is more than many get for a guy who is about to walk. Even an elite player. We will hear the rumors soon.

[Roundball_Rock]

He is averaging 30/19/6 in 33 MPG after two games...

[Gudo]

Much of their play is giannis driving to the hoop and dishing out to teammates. I dont see a lot of teamplay.

[Vragrant]

It’s simple. Giannis needs to refine his offensive game. If he could refine 1-2 go to moves like a jumphook or a post fade-away sky is the limit. He can’t keep barreling to the basket because that’d not going to get it done. Also it will open up shooters on the perimeter once the defense collapses

[Euroleague]

Everyone has seen what Giannis looks like in FIBA play without the rules and refs helping him. He's a tremendous athlete and he plays extremely hard, so at 6-11 that of course is a great start for a player, but he has almost no basketball skills whatsoever.

He travels and palms the ball every single time he touches it, he can't shoot, and he can't score in general unless it's a layup or a dunk. Considering he's 25, and is in his 7th NBA season, it seems doubtful he's going to actually try to develop any skills at any point. It's unfortunate, because his supreme physical gifts won't last much longer probably, and could go away at any time with a bad injury.

[Shooter]

Exactly, Shaq didn't win a title/make the Finals without an elite wing player to draw the defense off him. Giannis would dominate as well if you put him 1 on 1 against anyone inside, replace Middleton with Lillard/Curry/CP3 and no one's beating that team.

Who was Shaq's elite wing in 2000?

[Roundball_Rock]

It is a dumb talking point--Shaq had star wings on his teams nearly his entire career. at acting like he had all these shots to make the finals without a star wing and didn't. There was a brief window early in LA before Kobe became a star but the last time I checked the Lakers were in the WCF with Kobe on the bench but Kobe, all-stars Jones and Van Exel and basically the entire team outside of Shaq didn't show up for the series. Shaq did his job. He didn't need superstar production. He just needed them to show up and produce close to their RS levels in the series--they didn't.

[Euroleague]

It is a dumb talking point--Shaq had star wings on his teams nearly his entire career. at acting like he had all these shots to make the finals without a star wing and didn't. There was a brief window early in LA before Kobe became a star but the last time I checked the Lakers were in the WCF with Kobe on the bench but Kobe, all-stars Jones and Van Exel and basically the entire team outside of Shaq didn't show up for the series. Shaq did his job. He didn't need superstar production. He just needed them to show up and produce close to their RS levels in the series--they didn't.

Years Shaq made the NBA Finals:

1996 - Had Penny Hardaway before the injuries
2000 - Kobe
2001 - Kobe
2002 - Kobe
2004 - Kobe
2006 - peak D. Wade

[Roundball_Rock]

Years Shaq didn't have Penny, Kobe, or Wade on his team in his prime: 1993, his rookie year. Even after his prime he played with Nash, LeBron, Pierce & Allen.

[Roundball_Rock]

35/11/7 on 14 shots in only 30 minutes in Game 3. 31/16/6 line for the series. Not bad for a player who supposedly is easy to shut down.

[NBAGOAT]

35/11/7 on 14 shots in only 30 minutes in Game 3. 31/16/6 line for the series. Not bad for a player who supposedly is easy to shut down.

Re the earlier Shaq discussion, Ewing made the finals with Starks as the Knicks' second option/best wing and Hakeem did it with Maxwell as the Rockets' best wing. Making the finals is tough, even though LeBron has made it look easy. If you give Shaq a full decade he makes the finals regardless, if lesser centers did it. He just wouldn't have the same number of trips and rings if he is playing with Starks or Sean Elliott or Terry Porter but those are the type of second option wings on most 90's contenders (contrary to mythology). Even in the first half of the 00's you had teams making it with Aaron McKie, Jalen Rose, Hamilton, Stephen Jackson, etc. as their second best wings. Not every team had Kobe or Penny in the finals.

The formula is the bucks can’t make a jumpshot. Giannis played poorly vs tor last year but that’s really what turned last year vs the raps since kawhi was a bit hobbled too.

Bucks started bricking not just Bledsoe and vanvleet played like an all star. Haven’t seen many good players be completely useless like mirotic was