Because the Boston Celtics get set to tackle the Milwaukee Bucks, stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo feels just like the number-one precedence, however with a participant as dominant as Antetokounmpo, stopping him isn’t an choice. The Greek Freak scored lower than 20 factors solely seven occasions this season, and the Bucks nonetheless went 4-3 in these video games. Generally, it’s extra about slowing gamers down than stopping them.
Beating the Bucks is about extra than simply slowing down Antetokounmpo, although. Milwaukee has turn into a perennial championship contender due to the items they’ve put across the 27-year-old celebrity. The truth that Khris Middleton will miss the whole collection is a large blow to their star energy, however they nonetheless have loads of guys able to step up.
Boston must account for not solely Antetokounmpo on the defensive finish, however gamers like Jrue Vacation, Grayson Allen, and even Bobby Portis, too. Not having to gameplan for Middleton will make their life simpler however stopping Milwaukee’s potent offensive assault will nonetheless be a big-time problem.
Beginning with the pinnacle of the snake, Antetokounmpo is a freak of nature. He averaged 28.6 factors an evening in Spherical 1, capturing 56.8 % from the sector. Fortunately for the Celtics, they’ve higher defenders and a greater defensive scheme than the Chicago Bulls do. However Antetokounmpo is nice sufficient to tear by means of any protection put in entrance of him. That being stated, let’s check out what has and hasn’t labored in opposition to him previously.
In the beginning, it’s all about personnel. Simply take a look at the Bulls. Nikola Vucevic was too gradual to remain in entrance of him, Javonte Inexperienced was too quick to successfully guard him, Derrick Jones Jr. was too weak to physique him up, and so forth. Antetokounmpo knew this and took full benefit.
That received’t be the case for Boston. The Celtics have a number of gamers who can keep on with Antetokounmpo. Al Horford is the primary man that involves thoughts, adopted by gamers like Grant Williams, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and even Marcus Good. Not all of them are the proper matchup, however they’re sensible sufficient and perhaps extra importantly large enough on the defensive facet of the ball to at the very least make Antetokounmpo assume. In three video games in opposition to the Celtics this season, he averaged 28.3 factors on 53.4 % capturing – a tad bit under his season averages. However the important thing to defending the Bucks isn’t slowing down Antetokounmpo. It’s every little thing round that.
When Antetokounmpo will get the ball in his arms, every little thing else opens up. He’s turn into such a dominant risk that it opens up alternatives for the remainder of his teammates. Even when he doesn’t have the ball in his arms, opposing defenses have to fret about his each transfer. He’s at all times one transfer away from dunking over any participant you set in entrance of him. That is the place defensive gameplans are available in. However once more, as a lot because the Celtics would like to gradual him down, it’s extra about minimizing the injury that these round him trigger.
The Giannis wall
In the beginning, let’s look at a protection that labored in opposition to the Bucks previously – ‘the Giannis wall.’ In 2019, Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors broke out a protection that was solely centered on stopping Antetokounmpo. Primarily, it was a 1-2-2 zone, the place the three defenders up high would collapse on Antetokounmpo, pressuring him to make a transfer, and as a rule, forcing a turnover or a nasty shot.
Sadly for the Celtics, that was 2019. Whereas Boston positively has the personnel to drag that off, Antetokounmpo has improved a lot that he not panics below stress. And extra importantly, he has higher gamers to go out to now. As an alternative of kicking the ball out to Eric Bledsoe and a younger Pat Connaughton, he has lights-out shooters like Allen and Vacation (who has improved since his capturing woes final postseason). With all these weapons round him, Boston can’t actually afford to single Antetokounmpo out in the identical method that groups have previously.
WillSoTrill Hoops made two nice movies on these schemes in opposition to Antetokounmpo, so be sure to examine these out for extra data.
Field-and-one
Let’s get loopy for a second. Clearly, when the Raptors famously ran the box-and-one against Stephen Curry within the 2019 NBA Finals, it made Nurse appear like a genius. What if Udoka makes use of an identical technique?
The primary thought that involves thoughts is that Horford might be a bit too gradual to chase Antetokounmpo round all night time. He appears to be the best choice to protect him straight up, but when the matchup turns into a observe meet, he might get gassed. Tatum might be the man, however having him exert that a lot power on the defensive finish might be pricey, despite the fact that he did simply do it for everything of the Brooklyn Nets collection.
Enter the Defensive Participant of the Yr.
Good is just 6’3, however that’s by no means stopped him earlier than. Throwing him on Antetokounmpo to pester him would enable the remainder of the Celtics’ protection to fret about Milwaukee’s shooters. He might run round, draw offensive fouls, and make life tough for the Greek Freak. And even when he managed to get by Good, he could be met by Horford and Williams collapsing on him within the paint, which might enable Tatum, Brown, and Good to get out in rotation and canopy the shooters.
This sort of protection isn’t one which the Celtics might get away with for lengthy stretches. It’d be one thing to discover solely when Antetokounmpo has the ball in his arms crossing halfcourt. Aside from that, they need to follow the fundamentals.
Man-to-man
That is the place the Celtics will shine. Their switch-everything, hard-nosed defensive fashion has propelled them to be top-of-the-line defensive groups within the league. Simply because Antetokounmpo is on the opposite facet of issues doesn’t imply they should change something about what they’ve been doing. It simply labored in opposition to Kevin Durant, so why not throw that very same fashion of protection at Antetokounmpo?
As an alternative of Tatum guarding him, Horford is prone to be the first defender on Antetokounmpo firstly of video games, however previous that, be careful for Grant Williams. He guarded Antetokounmpo greater than every other Celtic this season, matching up with him for 10:quarter-hour over the course of two video games. He held Antetokounmpo to 4-of-10 capturing from the ground.
This play was too fairly to depart out.
No matter who covers Antetokounmpo, Udoka’s switch-everything protection ought to work wonders in opposition to Milwaukee. All people in Boston’s rotation (exterior of Payton Pritchard) ought to really feel comfy sticking with Antetokounmpo for stretches, particularly realizing that assist protection is nearly certainly on the way in which.
Most significantly, this fashion of protection permits the Celtics to fret about Milwaukee’s different weapons. Horford, Tatum, Williams, and anybody else who the Celtics throw at Antetokounmpo is sensible sufficient to remain in entrance of him, and even when they don’t, Robert Williams shall be ready down low with the assistance. This leaves perimeter defenders like Good and Brown on the skin, able to take care of shooters like Allen, Vacation, and Lopez.
Plus, Antetokounmpo’s capturing struggles enable the Celtics to give attention to Milwaukee’s different threats. Right here, that’s Middleton, however with him out for the foreseeable future, this might be anybody from Portis to Vacation to Allen, if want be.
The failsafe is sending assist in the paint. That is precisely how the Celtics take care of Joel Embiid, and if Antetokounmpo catches the ball down low, using the identical tactic could be the apparent plan. It doesn’t matter who’s guarding Antetokounmpo within the publish — the nook defender ought to present assist regardless.
The decision
Boston is likely one of the finest defenses within the NBA for a cause. Brad Stevens has given Udoka a gaggle of men who can all guard anyone else within the NBA, and that enables them to modify every little thing, successfully chopping off Antetokounmpo’s probability at discovering a mismatch. In flip, the remainder of the Bucks received’t be given as a lot area to work as that they had in opposition to, let’s say, the Bulls.
And let’s not sugarcoat issues: Middleton’s absence is a killer for Milwaukee. Having an All-Star-caliber perimeter risk like Middleton on the skin who’s able to creating for himself and others could be extraordinarily useful in breaking down Boston’s zone. However now, the Bucks are left with Antetokounmpo and Vacation as their major ball-handlers. As nice as these two are, coping with two All-Stars is less complicated than coping with three.
In order the Celtics try to halt Milwaukee’s Antetokounmpo-led offense, as loopy because it sounds, they shouldn’t change something. It labored in opposition to Durant, it’s labored in opposition to gifted opponents all season, so why change it? Udoka is gifted sufficient to make changes on the fly, however till he must, there’s no level in altering the very best defensive scheme within the NBA.
