Nets-Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo is not that guy, and Mike Budenholzer is not that coach

Let’s get this straight proper off the highest: The Milwaukee Bucks didn’t choke of their crushing Sport 5 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night time, a sport which they led by as many as 17 factors. They bought beat by Kevin Durant, who’s so significantly better than the very best the Bucks have to supply that it doesn’t even matter that Kyrie Irving is out and James Harden is mainly down a leg. 

Durant, even by his requirements, was preposterous on Tuesday, ending with 49 factors, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and two blocks to grow to be the primary participant in historical past to file a 45-15-10 playoff sport. Alongside the way in which, Durant shot 70 p.c from the sphere. He performed all 48 minutes, the primary participant to take action in a playoff sport since LeBron James in 2018. 

“He’s the very best participant on the planet proper now,” Giannis Antetokounmpo stated of Durant, and he’s not flawed. Each lazy narrative on the market that Durant by some means was, or is, incapable of carrying a non-stacked workforce appears to be like about as unhealthy as Mike Budenholzer in the intervening time. 

Phrases merely can not do Durant’s greatness justice. To assume he’s coming off a torn Achilles tendon is baffling. That is madness what he’s doing, although to be truthful, if you watch him play, you surprise the way you ever may’ve thought he could be something apart from nice upon his return. The sport is simply stupidly simple for him. 

All of that stated, a number of issues should be stated concerning the Bucks. Particularly, about Giannis and Budenholzer. One performed his coronary heart out, however his appreciable expertise and commendable motor, effort and satisfaction however, he’s simply not that man, which we’ll get to shortly. The opposite would possibly’ve simply coached his manner into the unemployment line. This was an all-time sideline debacle. 

I can’t fathom, for starters, how Budenholzer didn’t have Giannis, supposedly among the finest defenders on the planet, guarding Durant in cash time. As an alternative, the dude was caught on Joe Harris, who was a statue within the nook as Durant went to work on Khris Middleton and P.J. Tucker. 

This can be a unusual development all through the league proper now. The most effective defenders hardly ever match up on the very best scorers. We noticed Doc Rivers put Danny Inexperienced on Trae Younger in Sport 1 of the Sixers-Hawks collection whereas Ben Simmons roamed round helplessly. Younger cooked Inexperienced. The Sixers misplaced. Since then, Doc has made the adjustment, placing Simmons and Matisse Thybulle on Younger, and the Sixers received Video games 2 and three and have restored home-court benefit heading into Sport 5 on Wednesday. 

You surprise what took so lengthy. 

Now Gianis is saying he needs to “tackle the problem” of guarding Durant in Sport 6. That’s good. It would nicely be too late. 

There are, on paper, causes for conserving these prime defenders off the very best scorers. On the ball, they’ll seemingly fall sufferer to a ball display anyway. Their versatile abilities are sometimes greatest utilized in a free-safety capability, roaming round searching for the suitable time and place to make their impression felt. Certainly, trendy NBA protection isn’t about one matchup. It’s about all of them and the way you progress from one into the opposite. It’s extra about your weakest hyperlink than your strongest. 

Nonetheless, there are occasions to take the old school problem. Giannis won’t have the foot velocity to stick with the shifty Durant, however he’s the one man with the size to present him a prayer of not less than bothering his shot. This was ace-up-your-sleeve time for Milwaukee. Giannis is meant to be an ace. 

“I strive it,” an Japanese Convention coach texted CBS Sports activities on Tuesday night time once I requested him why these nice defenders are sometimes stored off the best scorers. “It’s fascinating others don’t.” I then pressed the coach for what he made, particularly, of Bud’s choice to maintain Giannis off Durant down the stretch of Sport 5. 

“LOL,” he wrote. “Dumb.”

Harsh because it sounds, that phrase sums up a lot of what Budenholzer’s Bucks stood for Tuesday night time. Not solely was Budenholzer not utilizing GIannis on Durant; he wasn’t even doubling him with different guys. Are you able to think about letting the very best one-on-one participant in historical past play … one on one … as he’s spit-roasting your total group proper in entrance of your eyes?

In the meantime, Milwaukee’s offense is a multitude. They’re isolating WAY an excessive amount of, treating Middleton and Jrue Vacation as in the event that they’re Durant. When the ball strikes and there’s some semblance of tempo to their half-court offense, Milwaukee will get good photographs. However they bail out with common photographs at nearly each flip. 

The gamers deserve loads of blame for that shot choice, however sooner or later, that is on Budenholzer. He’s the architect of this. He has been cussed along with his defensive schemes previously, and now he’s simply sitting by letting his offense generate rubbish take care of rubbish look whereas hiding behind the “make or miss league” guise. 

No, it’s not a make-or-miss league. That’s what Mark Jackson used to say, and there’s a motive he’s broadcasting video games and never teaching them. If you’re lacking photographs within the NBA, extra occasions than not, it’s since you’re taking the flawed ones. If you happen to assume Giannis settling for fadeaway jumpers from the put up in crunch time is a 50-50 proposition, you’re delusional. 

Bud has to step in when the Bucks will not be even attempting to assault Harden, who was a wounded gazelle on the market and by some means simply bought left alone by the lions. As an alternative, the Bucks examined Durant, the very best defender on Brooklyn’s workforce. When Giannis did go at Harden, it was, as within the case of the aforementioned fadeaway, within the put up, the one place the place Harden’s power can permit him to carry his floor with out having to maneuver in house on that bum leg. These are ludicrous methods, or lack thereof. 

Whereas we’re at it, let’s have a look at Milwaukee’s minutes distribution. Bud has lengthy been maddeningly unwilling to play his greatest gamers massive minutes, however what he did on Tuesday bordered on prison. Durant performed each second as a result of Steve Nash knew how necessary this sport was. James Harden can hardly transfer and he performed 12 extra minutes than Jrue Vacation, who was alleged to be the lacking championship hyperlink. In actuality, Vacation has seemed rather a lot like Eric Bledsoe on this collection, however he nonetheless has to play greater than 34 minutes in a sport like this. 

However Bud can’t, and shouldn’t, get all of the blame. Once more, Vacation has not been even near ok. Brook Lopez is on the market getting diced to items. Middleton is doing precisely what Brooklyn needs him to do in settling for one-on-one contested jumpers. However on the finish of the day, Milwaukee’s shortcomings, at this cut-off date, are tied most on to Giannis. As I stated on the prime, he’s simply not that man. 

It’s a distinct sort of criticism than that which has been deservedly reserved for Budenholzer. At the very least Giannis is attempting to do one thing. He simply isn’t ok to do it. That simply must be stated. Again-to-back MVPs don’t imply a factor if you end up missing even a single go-to transfer within the half-court and you may’t shoot a lick. 

This isn’t some new improvement. Smarter-than-you coaches and analysts will proceed to let you know about all of the issues guys like Giannis and Ben Simmons do as a result of they’re sick of you speaking concerning the issues they will’t do, however it’s the issues they will’t do this matter most within the largest moments. 

Blake Griffin has given Giannis matches this collection. Blake Griffin. 

Credit score Griffin for sticking his nostril in there, however truthfully, it’s not that onerous to protect Giannis. He going to place his head down. He’s going to barrel to his proper. He doesn’t have one counter transfer as soon as you chop off that extremely predictable foray. He can’t shoot, so that you sit again and anticipate the drive. He’ll power a number of 3s each sport for good measure. If you happen to foul him, he can’t shoot free throws. 

You simply can’t survive on bull-in-china-shop offense within the postseason. You’ll be able to’t depend on stepping into the open court docket. The Sixers couldn’t generate something down the stretch of their loss to the Hawks on Monday as a result of they don’t have one single pure shot creator. 

We speak rather a lot about Simmons’ scoring aggressiveness, or lack thereof, and mindset is unquestionably extra part of his equation than Antetokounmpo’s, however we too simply pass over the precise indisputable fact that Simmons simply can’t do the issues so many individuals need him to do. It’s not a choice. It’s a limitation. You don’t go into an NFL playoff sport and ask Tim Tebow to start out throwing the ball all around the discipline. He’s not ok to try this. Equally, you may’t ask Simmons to only begin scoring. You must settle for his limitations. 

We have to have the identical dialog about Giannis. He’s not that man. He has extra MVPs than Durant however he isn’t even near Durant. Or LeBron James. Or Steph Curry. Or Kawhi Leonard. Or Nikola Jokic. Or Joel Embiid. He’s not a man you may simply flip to and say “win this sport for us.” He’s out of his depth. He can’t do the one factor you’ve gotten to have the ability to do to be a famous person in at the moment’s sport. He can’t shoot. And all the pieces trickles down from that. In basketball, for all our nuanced evaluation, it actually might be that straightforward. 

Certain, the numbers look nice. Giannis went for 34 factors and 12 rebounds on Tuesday. He shot 14 for 22 from the sphere. He made 4 of his seven free throws. He was 2 of 4 from 3. However pay attention, the man was taking pictures 13 p.c from 3 within the playoffs, on nearly 5 makes an attempt per sport, coming into Tuesday’s sport. He was 51 p.c from the free-throw line. He’s what he’s. At the very least for now. He’s a circumstantial star. When he will get the ball in the suitable place, in the suitable manner, he’s unstoppable. However he can’t dictate his personal phrases. He’s on the mercy of the sport. The protection. 

And for so long as that’s true, the Bucks should play nice on the margins to compensate. They should shoot the heck out of the ball when Giannis is getting walled off. Middleton and Vacation should be big-time creators, somewhat than settling for pull-up jumpers, as a result of their worth lies so closely of their having the ability to plug Giannis’ holes. Budenholzer needed to put everybody in the suitable place. He has to play his greatest gamers massive minutes. He has to not less than give him workforce a preventing likelihood. 

Steve Nash made loads of his personal errors on Tuesday. He was operating offense although Harden an excessive amount of when he was no risk to do something, and it value Durant touches on some essential possessions. 

However Nash has Durant, the curer or all sins. If Giannis had been Durant, Budenholzer may get away with among the stuff he does, too. However Giannis just isn’t Durant. He’s not that man. As harsh as that sounds, that’s the reality. And it’s the primary distinction on this collection.