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     Saarang Pilla Bewarse Username: Saarang Post Number: 736 Registered: 04-2015 Posted From: 175.101.105.9 Rating: N/A |
Zach Lowe's MVP favorite...Giannis Antetokounmpo...looks like his time has come very early at age 22. I, for one, welcome our new Giannis overlord Holy god. What are you even supposed to do with this guy? Play off of him, and he uses the open space as a runway. If Giannis Antetokounmpo is barreling at a flat-footed defender in the paint, it's over. Your natural instinct -- the only thing you can do, really -- is to backpedal, and most defenders open their hips in one direction as they do. That gives Antetokounmpo a straight line to paydirt. Somehow hold your ground, and Antetokounmpo buries his head in your chest, tips you off-balance, reaches up, and lays the ball in over your head. Press him, and he zips around you. He doesn't even need to blow past you; if he just gets side-by-side, he reaches his arm to a spot you can't, and flicks the ball up. The only answer is to send help, and that is old hat for Antetokounmpo now. He sees every possible pass, and with arms that long, almost every pass is possible. When Thon Maker is at center and the Bucks slot four shooters around Antetokounmpo, they will get a high-value shot every single time. He's getting better at everything. His passing advanced last season. So did his rim protection. He has a soft little floater now, and a Dirk-ish slide-back jumper for post-ups late in the shot clock. He knows how much defenses fear him. He is mastering little tricks that play on that fear -- subtle acts of cruel puppetry. Watch how he spooks the entire Portland defense into gearing up for a drive, only to pivot into a handoff that gets Tony Snell a wide-open triple: Antetokounmpo is thinking one and two steps ahead. LeBron's place as the league's best player should remain unquestioned until he can't reach peak levels in May and June. But Giannis is coming. |