PG Pelicans - Bucks Roll to 6th Straight

[-Jragon-]

If we win the title this season (unlikely unless Dame comes back, but you never know), KPJ will play a huge role, no doubt. That we somehow got him for Marjon is still unbelievable to me.

This is a fun idea.. it always seemed like other East teams (MIami especially) would have young players step up in the playoffs.. it finally could be us. We were always hoping for some old vet rekindling

[jimmybones]

At least statistically, KPJ had some good seasons in Houston, but the baggage still kept teams away. The league knows what he can do. He would really have to bust out in the playoffs to have teams throw any serious money at him. I predict the Bucks will have the opportunity to sign him to a 2-3 year deal on the cheap. I also think it's a great fit alongside Dame, because you're limiting the risk by not needing to hand over the keys to the offense to KPJ. Low risk, high upside.

I hope you are right but I fear you are wrong. I don't think he's ever shown flashes of brilliance this often and to this degree in the past and now that there's more distance from the baggage, some team is going to offer money for that talent and upside.

I hope we can sell him on fit, situation and role but I don't think there will be a lack of suitors.

[Ron Swanson]

I mean, how much do you guys really think other teams are gonna put into this 30-game stretch of a guy who's playing 19-MPG and averaging 11/4/3? We see it because as fans we're heavily invested and micro-analyzing every possession and glimmer of potential on each of these guys, but I highly doubt any of the few cap space teams are all of a sudden altering their offseason plans to throw money at a guy who was literally kicked out of the league for off-court reasons just over a year ago. If the Nets really wanna throw him a 3-year, $60 million contract, then you say "wow, good luck with that" and move on.

[Bucksmaniac]

I mean, how much do you guys really think other teams are gonna put into this 30-game stretch of a guy who's playing 19-MPG and averaging 11/4/3? We see it because as fans we're heavily invested and micro-analyzing every possession and glimmer of potential on each of these guys, but I highly doubt any of the few cap space teams are all of a sudden altering their offseason plans to throw money at a guy who was literally kicked out of the league for off-court reasons just over a year ago. If the Nets really wanna throw him a 3-year, $60 million contract, then you say "wow, good luck with that" and move on.

It’s the way it’s translating into wins in the clutch more than anything. Our clutch play is looking a lot better after the deadline since acquiring KPJ I’m almost certain.

[nagawicka]

It's fun to debate how to use KPJ going forward - should he start next to Dame, should he back up Dame as 6th man combo guard, should he flat out replace Dame where Dame is traded - fun thought experiments where multiple routes have merit.

One thing is clear though - we gotta keep the dude and being gifted a potential 3rd option type talent really changes the offseason outlook.

Okay, sure, now that KPJ has point guard nailed down, what position is Giannis supposed to play? That's the real question.

[old skool]

Rivers deserves a ton of credit for changing Antetokounmpo's role of late. Playing point-Giannis, his usage has gone up over 30% the last several games, while his FGA per game is generally unchanged. The result has been a string of triple doubles and a winning streak that brought the Bucks road record back to .500.

Point-Giannis has improved overall team ball movement and reduced Giannis' stagnant dribble pounding.

The Bucks need to avoid the tendency for Antetokounmpo and Lillard (if the latter returns) killing ball movement while probing for their own shot.

The point-Giannis ball movement has unlocked 4th quarter KPJ. Preciously, KPJ would surge in the 4th while Giannis was on the bench and be considerably less productive when Giannis would return to close out the game.

Rivers deserves credit for overhauling the tram rotation and Giannis' minutes distribution.

[old skool]

As good as the Bucks have been during their 7 game win streak, we should acknowledge that five of those games came against opponents with losing records with little to play for. Not a single game was against a top 4 seed from either conference.

Playoff basketball is different, the opponents will be better, and the Bucks will be on the road more often than not.

[German Athens]

Rivers deserves a ton of credit for changing Antetokounmpo's role of late. Playing point-Giannis, his usage has gone up over 30% the last several games, while his FGA per game is generally unchanged. The result has been a string of triple doubles and a winning streak that brought the Bucks road record back to .500.

Point-Giannis has improved overall team ball movement and reduced Giannis' stagnant dribble pounding.

The Bucks need to avoid the tendency for Antetokounmpo and Lillard (if the latter returns) killing ball movement while probing for their own shot.

The point-Giannis ball movement has unlocked 4th quarter KPJ. Preciously, KPJ would surge in the 4th while Giannis was on the bench and be considerably less productive when Giannis would return to close out the game.

Rivers deserves credit for overhauling the tram rotation and Giannis' minutes distribution.

I agree with your point that the ball movement’s been better, and a big part of that is not having Giannis constantly probing the defense for his own shot. Doc deserves credit and Giannis deserves credit. More of that please.

I’m about to be annoyingly pedantic, and I’m not even sure you’re doing this, so my apologies if you aren’t, but I think a lot of people conflate usage % ( I think it’s a terrible name) with either time of possession or how often the offense fully runs through them (fga, fta, assist, turnover, etc), but it’s not either of these things.

Usage % is just the percentage of team possessions a player uses to get a shot up, whether that’s a field goal attempt or a free throw attempt, or turns it over. So theoretically, a player could lead the league in assists while also having the lowest usage percentage if they never attempted a shot or didn’t turn it over.

Giannis has been a dude over 30% usage for years now, but the difference in his play lately is the assist total going up and turnovers going down. I’m sure his time of possession, touches, and fully “used” possessions have skyrocketed since Dame went out, though.

[old skool]

Rivers deserves a ton of credit for changing Antetokounmpo's role of late. Playing point-Giannis, his usage has gone up over 30% the last several games, while his FGA per game is generally unchanged. The result has been a string of triple doubles and a winning streak that brought the Bucks road record back to .500.

Point-Giannis has improved overall team ball movement and reduced Giannis' stagnant dribble pounding.

The Bucks need to avoid the tendency for Antetokounmpo and Lillard (if the latter returns) killing ball movement while probing for their own shot.

The point-Giannis ball movement has unlocked 4th quarter KPJ. Preciously, KPJ would surge in the 4th while Giannis was on the bench and be considerably less productive when Giannis would return to close out the game.

Rivers deserves credit for overhauling the tram rotation and Giannis' minutes distribution.

I agree with your point that the ball movement’s been better, and a big part of that is not having Giannis constantly probing the defense for his own shot. Doc deserves credit and Giannis deserves credit. More of that please.

I’m about to be annoyingly pedantic, and I’m not even sure you’re doing this, so my apologies if you aren’t, but I think a lot of people conflate usage % ( I think it’s a terrible name) with either time of possession or how often the offense fully runs through them (fga, fta, assist, turnover, etc), but it’s not either of these things.

Usage % is just the percentage of team possessions a player uses to get a shot up, whether that’s a field goal attempt or a free throw attempt, or turns it over. So theoretically, a player could lead the league in assists while also having the lowest usage percentage if they never attempted a shot or didn’t turn it over.

Giannis has been a dude over 30% usage for years now, but the difference in his play lately is the assist total going up and turnovers going down. I’m sure his time of possession, touches, and fully “used” possessions have skyrocketed since Dame went out, though.

Two things.

First, my post above included a typo on "usage". I said "over 30%", but meant to type "over 20%". My bad. I only noticed the error when reading your response.

Second, I am not that focused/knowledgeable on advanced metrics. The usage increase that I cited was something I heard on an NBA radio discussion that said that Giannis's usage was "up 23%" (to be precise) and that his FGAs were "only up 1 per game". The point the radio show commentators (Rob Perez primarily) was making was that Giannis had the ball in his hands a lot more but was distributing to others more and not increasing his own shots that much. The discussion did not get into specifics of what comprised the usage metric. I didn't hear anything about what time frame this involved, but they were talking about Giannis increase in assists of late leading to his run of triple doubles. Maybe they were quoting a different metric than what you are referencing or maybe they got it wrong. FYI. Just clarifying my source on "usage". Not trying to refute anything you said.

[German Athens]

Rivers deserves a ton of credit for changing Antetokounmpo's role of late. Playing point-Giannis, his usage has gone up over 30% the last several games, while his FGA per game is generally unchanged. The result has been a string of triple doubles and a winning streak that brought the Bucks road record back to .500.

Point-Giannis has improved overall team ball movement and reduced Giannis' stagnant dribble pounding.

The Bucks need to avoid the tendency for Antetokounmpo and Lillard (if the latter returns) killing ball movement while probing for their own shot.

The point-Giannis ball movement has unlocked 4th quarter KPJ. Preciously, KPJ would surge in the 4th while Giannis was on the bench and be considerably less productive when Giannis would return to close out the game.

Rivers deserves credit for overhauling the tram rotation and Giannis' minutes distribution.

I agree with your point that the ball movement’s been better, and a big part of that is not having Giannis constantly probing the defense for his own shot. Doc deserves credit and Giannis deserves credit. More of that please.

I’m about to be annoyingly pedantic, and I’m not even sure you’re doing this, so my apologies if you aren’t, but I think a lot of people conflate usage % ( I think it’s a terrible name) with either time of possession or how often the offense fully runs through them (fga, fta, assist, turnover, etc), but it’s not either of these things.

Usage % is just the percentage of team possessions a player uses to get a shot up, whether that’s a field goal attempt or a free throw attempt, or turns it over. So theoretically, a player could lead the league in assists while also having the lowest usage percentage if they never attempted a shot or didn’t turn it over.

Giannis has been a dude over 30% usage for years now, but the difference in his play lately is the assist total going up and turnovers going down. I’m sure his time of possession, touches, and fully “used” possessions have skyrocketed since Dame went out, though.

Two things.

First, my post above included a typo on "usage". I said "over 30%", but meant to type "over 20%". My bad. I only noticed the error when reading your response.

Second, I am not that focused/knowledgeable on advanced metrics. The usage increase that I cited was something I heard on an NBA radio discussion that said that Giannis's usage was "up 23%" (to be precise) and that his FGAs were "only up 1 per game". The point the radio show commentators (Rob Perez primarily) was making was that Giannis had the ball in his hands a lot more but was distributing to others more and not increasing his own shots that much. The discussion did not get into specifics of what comprised the usage metric. I didn't hear anything about what time frame this involved, but they were talking about Giannis increase in assists of late leading to his run of triple doubles. Maybe they were quoting a different metric than what you are referencing or maybe they got it wrong. FYI. Just clarifying my source on "usage". Not trying to refute anything you said.

You’re all good, I was being annoying as hell.

I think usage % is commonly talked about incorrectly, and that’s what I just wanted to point out, because it should mean what everybody assumes it means.

To further muddy the meaning, some off the beaten path sources do include assist as part of the calculation, or there are metrics like true usage that do have it, but those aren’t the ones that are commonly cited from the nba site or bball ref.