Texas Chuck wrote:HeartBreakKid wrote:jalengreen wrote:i think it will be interesting if giannis leads the bucks to a title
say giannis performs at a normal level for him, middleton comes back for the ECF so giannis doesn't have to carry as much of an offensive load.
would that be enough to make up the gap between jokic and him?
I'd still vote for Jokic.
But I predict Giannis would certainly win POY in the poll. Especially if his finals series was good.
I actually think even if the Bucks repeat, Giannis won't win. He has a ton of skeptics on the PC board, including a couple of very influential posters. And even the people who don't actively post against him don't realize this is one of the best offensive players alive. He does it differently so people don't realize what he's doing. But he's an absolute dominant scorer and has enough skill as a passer to then take advantage of how much attention his scoring demands from defenses to set up teammates.
I think he has a lot to overcome because this board has become a real slave to style in recent years, and he doesn't fit the en vogue style the way Jokic and Curry do. Jokic deserves all of his flowers this year, but Curry is definitely rolling on previous achievements and a very strong advocate. His actual case isn't particularly strong on his merit.
I feel giannis’s defense gets a bit underrated
I think it’s fair to say his offensive impact isn’t as dominant as a curry or a jokic, but I feel people underrate his two way impact.
I think 2020 was the year his defense was absurd but I think he replicates that in the playoffs (I’m not sure if it’s an effort thing or a defensive role change thing, I think his defensive role shifted a bit from 2020 to 2021 but I’m not sure if it goes back to what it was in 2020)
Small samples but if we use the assumption his D steps up in the playoffs like that, and I think it’s fair to say either way versatile defenders generally are more valuable in the playoffs and Giannis is about as versatile as they come (dray, AD)
Of the impact stats, LEBRON/ShotchartsRAPM/LARAPM all put him very highly in terms of 2020 defense, best in the league by far.
If you assume his defensive impact in the playoffs is like it was in 2020, either because versatile defenders>>> in the playoffs or because he steps it up
(Two things that support would be the raw net rtg , although small samples, and that the bucks go from a league average defensive team to best, and Giannis gets a crazy def net rtg with only one teammate close and it’s not the same one either year, not full proof at all but it’s worth mentioning)
In 2019 and 2020 he had legitimate DPOY type impact, from 2010-2020 his DRAPM is only beaten by 2 years of Celtics garnett and Taj, luck adjustment drops it to 20th in that span, but it really significantly stands out vs any in the past 7 years and I think saying individual defense is less impactful nowadays is a fair thing to say
LEBRON has his defense at 6th in the past 10 years, behind two years of Dwight and Gobert, one year of Larry sanders
Offensively I don’t think people think he isn’t elite, I think it’s fair to say he’s not quite as good as his box numbers say sometimes (which is more a showing of how elite and effecient his scoring is), and a lot of times giannis does tend to get stuck on some possessions, but people really do overstate it sometimes and he’s going against a ridiculously good D that shut down durant whose one of the most reselient scorers ever
That being said he’s definately elite on offense, and I think his offense + 2020 defense would be better than jokic’s regular season (and a top ten one)
