Prez wrote:GuitarGod_Dan wrote:Prez wrote:I mean we can twist this any way we want to and put this on "American homerism" (whatever the hell that is supposed to mean here), but Giannis' jumpshot and ability to create in the half court against smart defenses is a weakness. People aren't just getting on him about last game purely because of that game alone, it's because it highlighted the weaknesses many people on this board have been talking about for a long time. The fact that those who point it out can't talk about it without being painted as haters, despite many of us who do it also being guys who defend/praise Giannis in every thread outside the Bucks forum and on here as well when he plays well, is kinda annoying. Everyone here loves Giannis and appreciates what he's done for the franchise, that doesn't mean we can't be critical of his game from time to time.
I'm not saying we can't point out weaknesses or call out when he has a bad game. What annoys me is when people say things like
"I'm starting to think he'll never have a jumper" and "this is why he'll never be a good ISO scorer" and "this one particular game is really concerning, this is why he'll never blah blah blah". My point is, a game like Monday night in Cleveland is an outlier. You don't put up numbers he does for 3/4 of the season already if you have obvious, glaring weakness. He has some, sure, but the ocasional poor effort game, this deep into the season, isn't something to get concerned about with him. He's the hardest working player we might have ever had. The growth to his game is astounding. Even his jump shot IS improving, and that's the easiest thing to improve. That's why most guys get better at it in the league as they age. As much as the "Greek posters" are at fault for always defending him, I feel like some of the "american posters" fly off the handle after one bad game and start putting absolutes on him (he'll never have a shot, he'll never be a good iso scorer, teams know how to shut him down) And it's equally fanatical in the opposite direction.
He's the second best forward, and maybe second best player in the East. In 3 or 4 years, if he keeps improving at even half the rate he has been improving (which is certainly possible, given his work ethic and drive) he very may well be the best player in the league. An occasional bad shooting night against the world Champs who specifically game planned to shut him down and let other players try to beat them won't even be remotely relevant then.
There's a difference between saying you're concerned about a certain aspect of his game, and definitively saying he'll never improve. Big difference. I don't know why you're generalizing people who are critical about his game. It's year 4 of his career and he's still a long way from being a comfortable shooter, and he still does have some issues in the half court when defenses settle in and cut off the paint. No one has a crystal ball here and is guaranteeing he'll never improve at those things, except maybe that one dude who got his thread locked. But the concerns are warranted. Everyone acknowledges that Giannis is a beast and a future MVP type player, but he's not perfect and it's fine to talk about it.
Look I completely agree. I'm not saying the guy is perfect and can do no wrong either. I totally admit that today, he isn't he most confident shooter. And I'm really not generalizing the whole board. I said "It annoys me when people say", not "It annoys me that this entire board says...". I totally agree that its totally OK to talk about his current flaws, but I've seen some posts that say they don't think he'll ever develop a jumpshot, will never be a good iso scorer, and using one game as an example, when its clearly the exception, not the rule. Steph Curry just shot 0/11 from 3 last night. Even the best scorers and shooters have off nights. My point is not to say "never complain about Giannis or talk about his current flaws", just that, on the same token, there is no need to overreact to 1 game where he was shut down, and had a bad night offensively. And even saying he had a bad offensive night is a bit of a stretch, because we was still moving the ball and racking up assists. I would say he had a poor scoring night.
I'm really not trying to start a debate over what's OK to criticize about Giannis and what's not. Obviously this is a public board and everyone is entitled to their view and opinion. I was just stating my opinion that I think we need to not get too worked up about Giannis' offensive game which continues to improve leaps and bounds, and focus on the much larger issues which are the poor roster make-up, the horrible defensive scheme, and hideous in-game coaching. Of course, those are all just my opinion as well, feel free to disagree haha
