Hey! No grown-ups! The kids are in charge!
Ice cream for dinner! We don’t have to brush our teeth! We get to fall asleep on the couch with the TV on!
Go Bucks!
What’s happening in Milwaukee these days is a movie script too bizarre to get greenlighted, even by Disney. After years of being stuck in the NBA’s no-man’s land of barely making or just missing the playoffs, the Bucks basically tanked by accident last season.
Now, with a new owner with deep pockets (that’s his daughter in the picture) and new coach with a deep reservoir of playing experience, the team has a chance to be the Eastern Conference’s version of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Bucks are completely invested in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker and will go as far as their two young forwards will carry them. The duo showed its potential in the Summer League, where it played together for the first time.
Individually, they have very different skill sets that seem to mesh beautifully, and watching them evolve as a 1-2 punch will be a lot of fun, as they will be led by the controversial Jason Kidd.
Before we take a look at the big picture, let’s zoom in on the three men in question, starting with the only one on the team last season.
THE GREAK FREAK
Giannis Antetokounmpo is entering his second season and is perhaps the most intriguing player in the NBA.
If you are not already familiar with his game, this is your last chance to get on the Greek Freak Bandwagon. Not even 20 with a unique skill set, Giannis has coaches, fans and scouts drooling. He is what the Space Jam Mon-Stars must look like in real life.
Just last month at a meaningless Summer League game against the Cavs, Giannis received a pass at the opposite
free-throw line – about 70 feet from the hoop – and dribbled twice as he galloped effortlessly for a dunk. When it
comes to potential – the most powerful word in NBA lingo – Giannis is captivating the imagination with what he can become.
As far as personality goes, you simply cannot help but fall in love with this kid and his incredible life story, honest smile and childlike playfulness. He is so genuine and unguarded, his face is like a big screen TV of what goes on in his head. When you hear him tell the story of how he got his first “brain freeze” while drinking a Slurpee, you might weep.
On the court, it is his feel for the game combined with his special physical gifts that makes him a top 10 talent. He has grown two inches since joining the league – now standing at 6-11 and listed generously at 217 pounds – he may remind the naked eye of Kevin Durant, but his mindset is more in the mold of LeBron James.
Though nowhere near as developed as James, Giannis seems more focused on initiating the play rather than finishing it. His court sense really jumps out, he has a feel for his teammates and at his size he can always see and pass over and around the defense. He is not an explosive athlete as much as an extremely fluid one.
The combination of his ballhandling and body control is a something to watch. On and off the ball, his body almost forces him to make a play, recalling a young Andrei Kirilenko. Giannis is not yet affecting every possession in the same way, but he might. His length, floor sense and timing almost always set him apart from the other nine guys.
Hopefully, Giannis will soon realize that normal rules and guidelines don’t apply to him. It’s kind of like a mental click more than anything. Once it happens, he will gamble more knowing he can recover. He will be more assertive and dominant, simply because the game is that much easier for him, even at the highest level.
Giannis can shoot from the perimeter well enough to keep a defender honest and will get better. With his guard-like mentality, he can get to wherever he pleases on the floor. He will be tested this season on his aggressiveness and willingness to take the reins of the offense. It seems Kidd has big plans for Giannis on that end, and we’ll get to that, too.
THE BOGEYMAN
I had Jabari Parker higher than Andrew Wiggins on my imaginary draft board. Landing on a team with no playoff aspirations in a desperate need of a go-to-scorer should work out perfectly for the young phenom. When a teenager has a nickname like “The Bogeyman,” we should all be a little scared.
Parker looks and plays like he is 25. He certainly has his flaws, but you cannot ask for a 19-year-old to be more NBA-ready. With a 6-8 frame supporting about 240 pounds, Parker is compared to Carmelo Anthony, mostly for his advanced scoring instincts at his size. He can get you a bucket from inside, outside and anywhere in between. He is first option material and clearly projects as a go-to-guy.
Parker is a sneaky good athlete. He is not at his peak condition, still has some baby fat to lose and his strength is somewhat obscured by his leaping ability. But when Parker takes a power dribble inside, the ground shakes and grown men bounce off him. Add his ballhandling skills and I am in the camp with folks who believe he will have a few seasons of averaging 25 points per contest.
Parker also has a bully element to his game. From the elbow, he is a nightmare to contain because he is decisive and aggressive, carving out space before the defense can react. He likes contact and can become a tenacious rebounder for his position with “coast-to-coast” upside. During Summer League play he even showed flashes of court vision to go along with his 1-on-1 talent and good shooting stroke.
His weaknesses are most apparent without the ball and on defense. He simply does not move when the ball is not in his hands unless he is trying to come get it. He showed some creative passing in summer play, but it was never consistent with the overall understanding of team context and always from a stationary position. When he does have the ball, he has tunnel vision, barreling straight to the hoop while ignoring spacing and double-teams.
Parker also has the worrying habit of trying to go up for a shot whenever he loses or fumbles the ball, expecting the referees to bail him out. In summer play, it was noticeable that he took on “star responsibilities” and felt obligated to make a play every single time he had the ball, which isn’t going to work against the talent level of the NBA.
On defense, Parker understands he needs to change but doesn’t really know how to go about it. The concepts of positioning and team schemes are all new to him, and he seems to relax and stand around at the wrong moments. As long as he is willing to learn and there’s someone to teach him, his natural talent and court sense should put him on the right track.
So what can Parker and Giannis do together? Well, the Summer League games whet our appetite as their skills seem to perfectly complement each other. But it wasn’t all good, evidenced by Milwaukee’s 0-4 record in games where both played. This is no reason to panic. Chemistry is a tricky thing, and there are no shortcuts. All good dynamic duos are formed differently, and it’s usually a slow cooking process.
THE GROWN-UP
Jason Kidd was once the best point guard in the world and the face of the Eastern Conference. He somehow has become the consensus villain of the NBA after only coaching for a single season – and deservedly so, given what we know about his latest actions. However, he might be the perfect coach for the Bucks.
With no previous coaching experience, Kidd was a bad fit for the Brooklyn Nets, who had a veteran-laden roster assembled to compete for a championship. He got some credit for shifting to small ball when center Brook Lopez went down for the season with a broken foot and guiding the Nets to a 34-17 finish after a horrific 10-21 start. But after a second-round playoff exit, it was clear the team had underachieved.
Things can be different in Milwaukee, a market so small it would be a hot dog cart in New York and a place where there is absolutely no pressure to win right away. Kidd has strong backing from the new owners and a pair of potential stars on their rookie contracts. He can use his two decades of NBA experience to prove he has a fresh, outside-the-box take on the game and become an innovative, next-generation coach.
Kidd can use Giannis as a point forward for brief stretches, expanding the youngster’s skills and building his confidence. He can experiment with using Parker’s threat as a scorer to open the floor for his teammates.
And Kidd will immediately command the respect of this group, which has an average age of 25 and grew up watching him. These kids idolized Kidd, and he won’t have to work as hard to earn their trust.
And that’s good, because he has to be the grown-up in the room.
Oren Levi is an amateur scout and writer and diehard NBA fan. Follow him on Twitter.
Bill says
When am I,going to learn that there are too many no-nothings on the web. Another article on the obvious where its author thinks he/she has some insight. And exactly what does the owner’s daughter have to do with anything?