Why did Dame and Giannis never really click?

[picc]

They were two great players who were both very good individually, but I never watched Bucks games and thought they were being synergized or really playing off each other.

Adrian Griffin had some bird brained offensive schemes and then they went to Doc Rivers, who isn't much better. They never seemed to run offense together and it was confusing as to why.

Who's fault was their relative lack of chemistry on-court?

[DusterBuster]

I honestly think it was a number of things, not one single persons "fault".

Injuries were a clear factor.

Coaching instability was another. Griffin was a terrible choice - which they tried to quickly correct - only to shoot themselves in the foot by hiring possibly the worst candidate imaginable.

Play style was a bit of another. Dame wasn't used to being a 2nd fiddle to another player, and did his best with it, but they both liked to play a bit differently. This is why they tended to work better when one was off the court and the other was taking the lead. Giannis wanted the ball in his hands more, not just be a roller to Dame's pick. Dame has also never been a particularly great lob-passer, which is helpful for Giannis.

Some mental parts of the game as well. Dame has opened up that due to some personal stuff (divorce and being away from children), being in Milwaukee was a struggle. This was a big reason he chose to come back to Portland over a reportedly dozen other teams that had offers out to him this summer.

So I think the answer is just a lot more nuanced than pointing the blame at one particular person or thing.

I mean, I guess if you really want to point the blame at one person tho, probably the GM. The coaching debacles were his call. Than, while he didn't have much in the way of assets to work with, the move of Middleton for Kuzma is nearly a fireable offense imo.

[MrGoat]

They were never really healthy at the same time in the playoffs so we never even really got a good view of the duo as intended ever. Giannis missed the 2024 playoffs, Lillard was hobbled and got seriously injured during 2025.

[LakersLegacy]

Dame finally won (at least a winter cup)

[picc]

I honestly think it was a number of things, not one single persons "fault".

Injuries were a clear factor.

Coaching instability was another. Griffin was a terrible choice - which they tried to quickly correct - only to shoot themselves in the foot by hiring possibly the worst candidate imaginable.

Play style was a bit of another. Dame wasn't used to being a 2nd fiddle to another player, and did his best with it, but they both liked to play a bit differently. This is why they tended to work better when one was off the court and the other was taking the lead. Giannis wanted the ball in his hands more, not just be a roller to Dame's pick. Dame has also never been a particularly great lob-passer, which is helpful for Giannis.

Some mental parts of the game as well. Dame has opened up that due to some personal stuff (divorce and being away from children), being in Milwaukee was a struggle. This was a big reason he chose to come back to Portland over a reportedly dozen other teams that had offers out to him this summer.

So I think the answer is just a lot more nuanced than pointing the blame at one particular person or thing.

I mean, I guess if you really want to point the blame at one person tho, probably the GM. The coaching debacles were his call. Than, while he didn't have much in the way of assets to work with, the move of Middleton for Kuzma is nearly a fireable offense imo.

Great post. Really thoughtful. I appreciate it.

[picc]

They were never really healthy at the same time in the playoffs so we never even really got a good view of the duo as intended ever. Giannis missed the 2024 playoffs, Lillard was hobbled and got seriously injured during 2025.

Injuries def played a part. They didn't have a ton of time. But they had enough to wonder wtf.

[M2J]

They were fine.... Dame couldn't defend and them being very front court heavy didn't help with that. Offensively they clicked fine when healthy

[Iwasawitness]

They were two great players who were both very good individually, but I never watched Bucks games and thought they were being synergized or really playing off each other.

Adrian Griffin had some bird brained offensive schemes and then they went to Doc Rivers, who isn't much better. They never seemed to run offense together and it was confusing as to why.

Who's fault was their relative lack of chemistry on-court?

I didn't think this is necessarily something you can blame on either player.

How you build around your stars matters. Milwaukee never had the supporting pieces needed to maximize their superstar duo. And the injuries didn't help.

And of course there's the Rivers signing, which we knew was never going to be a good fit.

[brutalitops]

The idea of Giannis+Dame PNR is great

Giannis not a great screener. The idea of him as a screener is beutiful, But as the skill? he low key sucks at it,

Middleton struggled with injury and then fell off a cliff, people forget he was amazing during the title run

Drop offs from Lopez as well, Tuckers last year he was effective,

Dame having some personal issues.

[FrodoBaggins]

Some interesting comments on Giannis' screening. It sounds like he sets picks with the intention of getting the ball passed to him more than to create a shot for the ball handler. Heavy on the slips & ghost screens? Is that correct? Ayton has that issue, doesn't he? Not willing to slow things down, take the hit/make solid contact, and follow the ball handler's lead.

[bonita_the_frog]

Some interesting comments on Giannis' screening. It sounds like he sets picks with the intention of getting the ball passed to him more than to create a shot for the ball handler. Heavy on the slips & ghost screens? Is that correct? Ayton has that issue, doesn't he? Not willing to slow things down, take the hit/make solid contact, and follow the ball handler's lead.

That is insanely brainy you sound like a basketball coach/daddy. Wonder if Giannis and Dame talked to each other about this ever or if they even realize it was holding them back...

[Ito]

Prolly off court stuff, one out likes music and thotties the other doesn’t care bout much and prolly accustomed to how he was raised or came up in his native country.. shouldn’t matter but maybe they didn’t click enough for them to just work out when it mattered.. and any time they had to acknowledge each other it was just “oh yeah that guy is good” but not really bonding on a serious note or maybe not maybe it was on court stuff and dame not knowing how to be the guy all the way or when to take a step back or just use all his tools and make a winning impact on a team and Giannis just shyed away from the spot light because there’s another star in town


Dame should prolly try to take a more offensive approach and be a point guard second, all the time tho, or just forget about that and look to score every time maybe that will work out more.. he could play he’s just not that person all the time or just let others lead and he could be the 4th quarter guy and make consistent buckets when needed .. i think that’s what he tries to do but then the team don’t be built for him to be the 3rd or 4th option

[AussieBuck]

Dame was going through ****, coaching was terrible, Giannis doesn't screen for the PG, Dame doesn't pick and roll to pass. It was fine but not amazing and then in the end Dame missed his family. Would have probably been a do over trade back home after the season if he didn't get injured. Unfortunately it ended this way. Could have been cool I'd not for the family stuff and comical coach hirings but it was a short window and it closed.

[druggas]

Chemistry can't be forced.

[sikma42]

Off the pick and roll Dame is a little limited. He doesn’t put much pressure on the rim and is a bit of a limited passer. It’s not surprise that it didn’t looked great imo


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[Froob]

Eh, think the rest of the roster was the bigger issue. The way they were trying to win in 2025 was going to be hard to do.

[hauntedcomputer]

Theoretically great PNR from two guys who don't do it in real life

[chilluminati]

Bad timing, bad coaching, bad situation overall. But even if all of that wasn't the case, it still wouldn't work.

Thing is, they never really had games that complimented each other. Both are primary ballhandlers with an iso heavy offensive playstyle. Dame was never the PG that would wow you in the half court set. Dame was a shot maker, plain and simple. If he were a few inches taller, he'd be a 2 without a doubt. He was asked to play one style his entire career, and when he was given the opportunity to show us he can adapt his game, it failed miserably (albeit, it wasn't 100% his fault).

And Giannis isn't your typical 4. He isn't setting screens and rolling, he has the ball in his hands and it basically has been that way for years now. Giannis has a bit of a 2 man game, but it's not his strength at all.

With a large enough sample size, I think they would have found a way to make this roster work. But it wouldn't have won rings, and it would have been Giannis and Dame taking turns playing primary scorer while trying to cope with the bad fit. It almost reminds me of how Brunson and KAT play together, they just take turns on who iso's.

[HMFFL]

Look over the Bucks roster if you need to know why things didn't work out. When you have Kyle Kuzma as a primary option on offense you probably won't win.

[CharityStripe34]

The Dame/Giannis screen stuff has some merit, as Giannis is aggressive and tends to slip the screen waiting for either a lob or pocket pass. When Middleton was there, because of his height it was easier for him to throw those passes. Dame being a smaller guard was starting to get trapped literally 30 feet away from the hoop, so they used Lopez as a bigger body to try and get him free. Plus, both guys like having the ball and Dame wasn't used to playing more off-ball (though he wasn't bad at it).

Had the Bucks hired Atkinson instead of Griffin at the time (he was one of the top candidates), it's possible he could've helped things work between them but there was also the issue of both not being available for the playoffs at the same time barring a couple of games where Dame was clearly not himself.