NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 694 Giannis Antetokounmpo is Going Astray

Jia Fei intercepted the ball and launched a counterattack, drawing a foul from Holiday!

The fans in the stadium gave him a round of applause, which was clearly for Jia Fei and also a booing of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Some Nets fans were also at the scene, and they seemed particularly excited. They didn't care even if the Clippers won the championship, as long as they could beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks!

Whoever beats Giannis Antetokounmpo the best is king!

"Teacher Su, the Clippers' inside defense is really decisive and quick! Giannis didn't even have time to shoot before he was double-teamed!" Wang Zixing exclaimed in admiration.

"Yeah, Giannis's ability to break double teams is still a bit weak. The opportunity was actually there on the perimeter. The Clippers' double team was obviously planned. They didn't double team early, but waited until they were deep in the paint to double team, taking advantage of your limited vision when passing the ball," Su Qun explained.

Giannis Antetokounmpo shrugged at the referee, indicating that Jia Fei had fouled him when he stole the ball, and that his hand had been hit. The big screen then replayed the slow-motion replay of Jia Fei's steal. The replay showed that Jia Fei's steal was clean; he completely sliced ​​the ball without touching Giannis's skin at all.

Being slapped in the face on the spot was extremely satisfying!

Jia Fei sighed inwardly, thinking Giannis Antetokounmpo was really not learning anything good. Instead of learning the good stuff, he was just like some people shrugging, elbowing, and using some kind of crazy move. He didn't practice his skills at all; his shooting was absolutely terrible. Aside from historically great centers, which MVP-caliber power forward didn't have a decent jump shot? And his shooting form was like an amateur's—his release was incredibly slow, his accuracy was comparable to Rondo and McGee, and his post-up game was also incredibly rough. Aside from a transition attack, his offensive repertoire was shockingly limited…

If defense alone could win you the MVP award, Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard would have won it long ago...

Giannis Antetokounmpo is also lucky to survive in today's small-ball era. If it were in the era of limited offensive spacing, he would have struggled to average over 20 points per game. To accommodate him and give him space to drive, even center Brook Lopez has moved to the top of the key to create offensive space.

Many people say Giannis Antetokounmpo is better than Running Man, which is pure bashing. Even Kobe fans or Warriors fans wouldn't say that. Running Man's ball-handling ability and passing vision are far superior to Giannis'.

Offensively, Giannis Antetokounmpo can function as a point guard, anchoring a team's offensive system. He's a true ball-handling core player, capable of driving and dishing throughout the game in his younger days. In fast breaks, he can not only go coast-to-coast himself but also accurately find teammates to follow up. Overall, he's a greater threat than Giannis. In half-court situations, Antetokounmpo's offensive arsenal is also more diverse than Giannis', and his shooting, which is often criticized, is also stronger than Giannis'.

Although he has never won the Defensive Player of the Year award, during his peak years with the Heat, he could defend positions 1 through 5, excelling in both help defense and one-on-one defense. He had unlimited stamina, strength, and speed, unlike his current hands-on-hips, half-hearted defense.

Giannis Antetokounmpo isn't a 211cm tall Running Man; he's more like a 211cm tall Dr. J, Julius Erving.

The Clippers were on offense. Jia Fei had the ball at the top of the arc and once again found Grant in the corner, who hit another three-pointer!

2:11, the gap has widened to 9 points, the Bucks call a timeout!

Old Li kept speaking passionately to the players on the bench. He didn't even have a tactical board; he was just roaring there, much like the actor surnamed Ma in a Chinese romance drama.

After Old Li finished his roar, his beloved general Tyronn Lue began to draw up tactics on the whiteboard. Since leaving the Cavaliers, Tyronn Lue had wandered around, but eventually returned to his mentor, Pighead.

The NBA also has its own circle culture. In fact, wherever there are people, there is a social hierarchy; otherwise, there wouldn't be distinctions like "Spurs faction" or "motivationalist style."

The representative figure of the Spurs system is Popovich, while the representative figure of the motivational style is Lee.

After the timeout, the Bucks stopped their rigid, defensive retreat. Tyronn Lue, as a defensive assistant coach, isn't as inflexible as his mentor; he's adaptable. He really wanted to use switching defense instead of retreating. However, the team's roster structure still wasn't suited for switching. Giannis could switch on opposing guards and forwards, but Brook Lopez couldn't; he's too slow. Even players like Bridges could outrun him, let alone Jabeur. Besides retreating, the only other option was to delay. But even with delays, he couldn't get back in time—ultimately, he's just too slow.

In the past, slow centers like Brook Lopez wouldn't necessarily be targeted so aggressively. But times have changed. Guards are now routinely dominating centers. If your center doesn't want to be dominated, you need to be faster, or you need a rotation defense system that allows younger players to move the ball quickly enough or create gaps in the defense.

The Clippers' quick ball movement and excellent spacing made it very difficult for the Bucks on defense.

After the timeout, the Bucks still had Brook Lopez post up against Grant, and they also increased the pick-and-roll initiation by Middleton and Holiday to chase down Olynyk.

Middleton and Holiday aren't great offensive initiators, but they do have ball-handling skills and are dangerous shooters, so the Clippers can't really leave them open.

On the defensive end, the Bucks stopped mindlessly retreating, and Brook Lopez came out to defend. Of course, he wasn't sticking to Grant like that, but he wasn't completely open either; he tried to disrupt him as much as possible.

Grant's two three-pointers still hurt the Bucks. In today's league, it's very damaging to be hit by three-pointers in a row, as three-pointers can score too quickly.

The Bucks' adjustments were effective. Brook Lopez worked well against Grant, and with Giannis Antetokounmpo's attacks, Grant quickly picked up his second foul and had to leave the game.

With the Clippers bringing in Lee Kyle, their depth at the forward position is simply too great; if one player goes out of play, another can easily fill the gap. Aside from Jia Fei, who is irreplaceable, there are replacements for almost everyone else.

Lee Kyle's style differs from Grant's. On offense, he can handle the ball and is a point forward. He can push the transition and finish, although he's a bit slower, he has a wide range of finishing options around the basket.

His biggest offensive problem is actually his shooting. His shooting ability is relatively weak. He's not completely incapable of shooting three-pointers, but his release is too slow and his accuracy is poor. His catch-and-shoot ability is comparable to Giannis Antetokounmpo, and his presence on the court can somewhat hinder the team's spacing.

On the defensive end, although Lee is slow, he is a very good defender. Whether it is one-on-one defense or rotational help defense, he can block and steal the ball. He is a very well-rounded and intelligent defender.

After Lee entered the game, the Bucks naturally allowed him to shoot three-pointers from the outside, but the Clippers also stopped playing five-outside drives and passes. Instead, they let Lee receive the ball at the corners, while Jia Fei and Paul George made off-ball runs.

This puts the Bucks in a difficult position. Their off-ball defense is mediocre, and their tall, mobile frontcourt players are not very effective. They prefer ball-handlers to attack the paint rather than off-ball players running around and shooting.