The Phoenix Suns might have traded for a third star in Bradley Beal last season and failed to hit the heights, but the same is no longer true of the Milwaukee Bucks. The swapped out Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard last time out - and although that ultimately led to nothing - they have really turned things around this season.
Head coach Doc Rivers using the tandem of Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo - plus Khris Middleton whenever he is healthy - to bounce back from a dreadful 2-8 start. Not only that, but the Bucks recently won the Emirates NBA Cup, which was further validation that they are on the right path back to contention.
In doing so they've made Suns' head coach Mike Bundeholzer look bad.
Coach Budenholzer helped lead the Bucks to a championship in 2021 - we won't remind you who against - but was eventually replaced by Adrian Griffin. He in turn was ditched in favor of Rivers, with the availability of Arizona native Budenholzer allowing the Suns to replace a leading man in Frank Vogel who fans never warmed to.
One of the more memorable things coach Bud did during his time in Milwaukee was turn center Brook Lopez into "Splash Mountain". No longer was he a traditional, back to the basket center, he was given the green light to take 28-footers whenever he felt like it. This worked extremely well - it was one of the factors in the Bucks' title win - although that experiment has so far failed in Phoenix.
At age 36 Brook Lopez remains elite at protecting the rim pic.twitter.com/z7sEjza4TN
— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) December 20, 2024
Jusuf Nurkic is taking more 3-pointers than ever before, but to this point at least he does not possess the same stroke that Lopez does. He has continued playing the way coach Budenholzer encouraged him to, and in truth it has probably elongated the 36-year-old's career. He doesn't constantly bang in the paint anymore, although he can still do that when required.
Which is less than ever, as Giannis has gone back into the paint to completely dominate opponents. But who is this making coach Budenholzer look bad? Because like Lopez, Antetokounmpo was encouraged to extend his range while Bud was in charge there. At its height in 2019-20, Giannis was taking 4.7 attempts from deep per night, and barely making 30 percent of them.
This fascination with turning this generation's Shaquille O'Neal into a threat from deep made sense if he was able to connect on a league average amount of them. That never happened, Antetokounmpo to this point has never connected on even 31 percent of his 3-pointers across a season, and he's never looked truly comfortable taking these shots either.
Yet coach Budenholzer kept pushing for him to do so, before ultimately being shown the exit door. With Rivers in charge though, the outside shots have shrunk all the way back down to less than one per game. Antetokounmpo appearing to have no interest in settling for these efforts, instead turning into the battering ram that helped his team win a championship back in 2021.
Does it always work? No, opponents have gotten good at walling off the paint when he goes on one of his terrifying drives. Which is where Lillard comes in, because he truly is one of the best shooters from deep the league has ever seen. With Giannis averaging six assists per night - up on the 4.5 he's averaged on his career so far - the Bucks have seriously profitted in changing how he plays.
Not a ton of 7 footers in nba history are getting drag screens at the mid court line, what a drive from GA pic.twitter.com/clkq8QWRRF
— 🦉 (@offthedribbl) December 19, 2024
No longer is he being asked to stretch the floor for no reason, he is instead getting back into the paint to dominate, while also facilitating at a level we haven't seen from him before either. Meanwhile in Phoenix Nurkic continues to take a career high 2.8 shots from 3-point range, and has so far made 28 percent of them.
In the Emirates NBA Cup Final versus the Oklahoma City Thunder - one of the best teams in the league - Giannis had his way with them on both ends of the court. The multiple blocks were awesome to witness - a former Defensive Player of the Year back to his fearsome best - while he finished the game with a triple-double (hilariously in the single game in which stats don't count).
Isaiah Hartenstein was the major offseason acquisition by the Thunder, a skilled big man who can be a focal point offensively and protect the paint on the other end. Did he get off some floaters early for his team? Sure, but Antetokounmpo crushed him. Perhaps if coach Budenholzer was less stubborn about what he wants from players, the Suns could profit too. Not a good look.