Milwaukee Bucks have a young, diverse roster of players. They’re long, athletic but versatility appears to be their calling card going into the 2015-16 season.
Everyone is hyping this team up to be one of the better squads in the Eastern Conference and rightfully so. With a returning roster of solid players lead by the ‘Greek Freak’, Giannis Antetokounmpo, a healthy Jabari Parker, a newly re-signed Khris Middleton, young point guard Michael Carter-Williams and the newest member of the team, Greg Monroe, joining the squad, the possibilities are endless for the Bucks.
With a diverse roster, there also has to be some sort of diversity in the lineup. There was talk before about the ‘Greek Freak’ playing some point guard but now, Bucks head coach Jason Kidd has said he wanted Giannis to play all five positions on the court.
Following from Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal-Sentinel.
“He’s 20 years old and he’s going to play every position for us,” Kidd said. “…He never complains. He just goes out there and plays.
“I think he’s showing he’s confident in shooting the three. He’s confident while he’s on the floor and he’s doing a lot of good things for us.”
Antetokounmpo went 2 of 2 from three-point range against Washington last week and was 1 of 3 against Minnesota as Garnett gave him plenty of room to bomb away.
Antetokounmpo was not discouraged after two early misses on wide-open looks beyond the arc.
“I feel it’s going to come,” Antetokounmpo said. “In the middle of the season and the end of the season I’m going to be making them, and you (reporters) are going to be talking how Giannis has improved a lot.
“I’ve just got to stick with it.”
Responsibilities are different at power forward than in the shooting guard or small forward positions.
“There are a lot of things being thrown at me right now, but it’s good,” Antetokounmpo said. “What’s a better way to learn that spot than by playing it in the game.
“It’s hard but I’m learning to play both spots. If something changes in the starting five, I can move to the 4; I can move to the 3. It’s versatility and it’s great to have that.”
Last summer, there was talk about Giannis playing center and people laughed it off. Now, with a bigger frame and more complete game, putting Giannis in at the center position isn’t a crazy idea, especially considering the linepus the Golden State Warriors put out in the NBA Finals.
The issue is, with Giannis at center, the Bucks need to stretch the floor. They don’t have a ton of shooting ability to do that, so it’s hard to imagine Giannis playing a lot of the bigger positions. Giannis isn’t a crazy good shooter himself but he does stretch the floor with his ability to dribble drive to the rim, forcing defenses to commit to him on the perimeter. His minutes at interior positions could dwindle with guys like Parker, Monroe, John Henson and even Miles Plumlee getting more minutes at the bigger positions.
In the backcourt, it just makes more sense for him to focus his attention there. On defense, he could be a long threat to opposing guards and he will also create some problems for opposing defenses that will attempt to stay in front of him and if they play him tight, he can just shoot over them with his huge frame.
If anyone can do it, it can be Giannis.
