2019 Eastern Conference Finals: How to stop Leonard/Antetokounmpo?

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The Eastern Conference Finals will take place on Wednesday at the Fiserv Forum. The Milwaukee Bucks have already waited five days after they eliminated the Boston Celtics 4-1 – four consecutive wins after one loss quickly showed Milwaukee's dominance. By contrast, the Toronto Raptors played a tough series of seven games before they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, thanks to a buzzer beater by Kawhi Leonard. Before the two teams meet in Game 1, let's take a look at what they should pay attention to.

The Raptors' best strategy against Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks dunks in a game. /VCG Photo

First, let's be honest, Milwaukee are the best team in the whole Eastern Conference. They have the MVP-caliber player Giannis Antetokounmpo accompanied by a team of 3-pt shooters who can provide ultimate spacing on the court for him to burst into the opponent's paint to destroy their defense. When the opponent tries to focus their defense on Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee's shooters are ready to deliver punishment outside the 3-pt line.

How do you defend the Bucks? The usual way is to have the center defend Antetokounmpo by standing under the rim. Since the Greek Freak still lacks shooting range, putting a big man between him and the basket theoretically should be able to stop him from attacking the rim while others can cover the shooters outside.

Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks under the double-teaming defense of the Boston Celtics. /VCG Photo

However, such tactics ceased to be effective in Milwaukee's series with the Celtics who gave the big man's job to Al Horford and Aron Baynes. First, Antetokounmpo increased his aggressiveness when he was posting up in offense through which he earned more free throws and hurt the Celtics' defense too. Second, even if Baynes remained around the free throw line, Antetokounmpo could still break his defense with speed and explosiveness. Marc Gasol shares the size of Baynes and is only slower so he will need help dealing with Antetokounmpo.

Since double teaming the Greek Freak is unavoidable, the Raptors must do it smartly. Instead of letting Antetokounmpo going deep into the paint, they must slow him down between the paint and the 3-pt line where he cannot attack the rim directly and the helping defender can go back to cover his target on time.

Brook Lopez #11, George Hill #3, Khris Middleton #22 and Eric Bledsoe #6 of the Milwaukee Bucks. /VCG Photo

Of course, this is only the first step of defending Milwaukee who still have cunning slashers (Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon), an elite isolation player (Khris Middleton) and probably the best bench squad (led by George Hill) in this year's playoffs. There's no way Toronto can stop them all.

How the Bucks could stop Leonard

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors shoots in the middle range in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers. /VCG Photo

It's too early to sentence the Raptors penalty, Just like they will be in a lot of pain defending Antetokounmpo, the Bucks will not be comfortable when they face Kawhi Leonard and his classic playstyle.

Like most teams in the league, the Bucks prefer to cover the 3-pt line and the paint first in defense to test the opponent's perimeter shots and that is what Leonard does best. In the 37.4 minutes he played on average in the seven games against the 76ers, Leonard could drop 36.4 points, relying not on three-pointers, but isolation attacks in the middle range. Thanks to his great footwork, top-level strength for a small forward and accurate shooting, Leonard could carry the highest possessions of the team and turn them into scoring despite the spacing on the court.

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors dunks over Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. /VCG Photo

Excelling in the middle range does not mean Leonard can be ignored with other things. He will punish you if left with open three-pointers and he could earn nine free throws per game in the series against Philadelphia under the defense of Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid.

Brook Lopez is one of the best rim protectors of the league but so is Embiid, not to mention that Lopez is slower than Embiid. Therefore, Milwaukee will have to count on their forwards to defend Leonard but the problem is, even their second-best defensive wingman Middleton cannot match Leonard in strength. The team want Antetokounmpo to save his strength for offense and won't have him defend Leonard all the time, just like Toronto won't ask Leonard to defend Antetokounmpo either.

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors under the triple-teaming defense of the Philadelphia 76ers. /VCG Photo

The Bucks can consider double, or even triple teaming Leonard in defense, just like the 76ers did and there are two good reasons for this choice. First, Leonard is not known for passing well and he committed 3.3 turnovers on average in the semifinals. Second, the Raptors do not have a qualified second scorer. Kyle Lowry and Gasol cannot provide volume, Danny Green is an assist-relying shooter and Pascal Siakam to not ready to carry offense by himself.