Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks runs with the ball in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Fiserve Forum, December 19, 2019.
The two leading teams of the West and the East, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks, may have given us a dress rehearsal of the 2020 NBA Finals at the Fiserv Forum on Thursday. In the end, the Bucks claimed a tough 111-104 win at home.
This is how 'Greek Freak' has been expected to play
Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Fiserv Forum, December 19, 2019.
Having been held back by his foul trouble and the team's time limit protection policy, Giannis Antetokounmpo only played 32 minutes in Thursday's game but that did not stop him from leading the Bucks to victory by dropping 34 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and, career-high five 3-pointers. Imagine how the opponents would feel when the Greek Freak could respond to a defense leaving him open by burying shots from the 3-point line.
What's more exciting for Milwaukee was Antetokounmpo's progress in reading the game. The Lakers have Anthony Davis, one of the very few in today's league that can take on Antetokounmpo one-on-one defensively. Instead of continuously picking on isolation battles with Davis, Antetokounmpo made the smart choice of seeking a mismatch via screen plays. When the purple and gold had to send their bench players, most of them looked more than vulnerable in front of the Greek Freak.
Milwaukee's bench offers more solutions
George Hill of the Milwaukee Bucks drives towards the rim at the Fiserv Forum, December 19, 2019.
Having contributed 34 points that beat the opponents' four points, Milwaukee's bench unit also played a key role in the game. George Hill alone put down 21 points and made three shots from the 3-point line. More importantly, Milwaukee's bench players did more than shoot better.
Both sides gave each other a hard time in offense in the first quarter. Though the Lakers only got 17 points, their "twin towers" Davis and JaVale McGee also made the Bucks' starting-lineup struggle to get no more than 23 points. However, when the two teams sent their bench squad out in the second quarter, everything changed.
The Bucks kept looking for ways to lure or force Davis or Dwight Howard out of the paint so Pat Connaughton and Sterling Brown could assault the most vulnerable part of the Lakers' defense. Their stats do not tell you how many offensive rebounds the Bucks got because of their efforts. If the Lakers' big men remained under the rim, Hill and Kyle Korver punished them even harder from the 3-point line.
Having lost 42 points in the second quarter alone made the purple and gold fall into the opponents' game pace and kept them constantly on the run, both disadvantageous in such a heavyweight contest.
Davis deserves applause for going all out
Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives towards the rim in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum, December 19, 2019.
Davis has been battling ankle injuries recently and, honestly, he has never been known for being healthy in the league. Nonetheless, he proved with his performance that he will not allow injury to hold him back on the court.
Having played 43 minutes in total – actually, he did not rest at all in the second half – Davis dropped 36 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Though he missed all six attempts from the 3-point line, Davis managed to earn 17 free throws (and made 14) by driving towards Milwaukee's rim continuously. In fact, from the third quarter, he was basically "throwing" himself to the opponent's rim every time he entered the paint.
More importantly, Davis gave the Lakers a reason to believe that they could defeat the Bucks, or Antetokounmpo. First, Davis matched Antetokounmpo in one-on-one possessions – fewer than three in today's league could do that; second, his floaters could be seen as one of the few solutions the Lakers have to the Bucks' defense.
A lesson for the purple and gold
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots the ball in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum, December 19, 2019.
Though LeBron James scored a triple-double of 21 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists in the game and surpassed Gary Payton (8,966) to rank No. 9 (8,970) on the list of NBA career assist leaders, he ran into real trouble offensively.
Coach Mike Budenholzer knows way too well about how to defend James. Whenever McGee or Howard, who could not stretch out the space, were on the court, Milwaukee would leave one of the Lopez brothers in the paint. No matter if it's Brook or Robin, both are true seven-footers, big and strong enough to remain between James and the basket. When James tried to launch a fast break, Milwaukee would return to defense as soon as possible.
Though James buried three 3-pointers by himself and delivered 11 assists, his attack was limited, which meant the Lakers lost one of their most important weapons in offense. If the team want to change that, they need to find better shooters or, more realistically, their shooters must do better.
Other games on Thursday (home teams in bold):
Utah Jazz 111-106 Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets 105-118 San Antonio Spurs
Houston Rockets 122-117 Los Angeles Clippers