Just to set the record straight here, since as usual, just stating facts in these discussions gets you labeled [paraphrasing] "a troll", "a Euro homer", "an NBA hater", "nuts", "crazy", etc.
Giannis did in fact have a horrendous game on defense against Spain, and it was so bad that Basket News felt they needed to write an article about it, after they did their post game video breakdown analysis.
https://basketnews.com/news-209893-unexpected-greece-problem-with-giannis-and-could-spanoulis-have-done-better.htmlWhen we talk about Giannis, we usually value him as an amazing player on both sides of the court. We often consider him the best player in the world at the moment simply because he is a much better defender than Nikola Jokic or Luka Doncic, making up for his offensive flaws.
But that was not the case against Spain. I know it sounds weird, but the Greek Freak really gave a sub-par performance.
It all started with him allowing Santi Aldama multiple baskets in the 1st quarter on pick-and-roll kick-out pass situations. Antetokounmpo was either too slow to close out, allowing the Spanish forward to make a couple of threes, or too slow, with Aldama going around and creating an advantage.
To me, that was already the first sign something wasn't right.
Later in the second quarter, Greece used a lot of switch-all defense. The best way to counter it is by slipping screens. Spain went straight to those, and I was stunned to see that Giannis was the one making mistakes.
After one possession, which ended in Giannis miscommunicating with Calathes and Rudy Fernandez making a three, the Greek point guard grimaced toward Antetokounmpo. I believe even Calathes was shocked at such an error from an elite defender.
Later, there was another situation in switch defensive coverage, which saw Alex Abrines sealing Giannis under the rim for two points.
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Again, for posting mere objective analysis and facts here, you will get labeled as a troll, a nut job, a hater, a Euro lover, etc. It's just ridiculous and absurd that such a great and huge basketball forum like this one, has such attack posts against objective game analysis.
