Daily MVP Film Breakdown: The Giannis Dunk Show
Giannis Antetokounmpo is unlike any basketball player past or present, but he put himself in some elite company with a dominant 44-point performance on Friday night.
The Greek Freak tied his career high in points without attempting a three, and he added 14 boards and 8 assists. He is the first person in to do that in an NBA game since two guys named Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct2TnZtQbzk
Who would you compare Giannis Antetokounmpo to? He’s a seven foot tall point guard, a 245-pound missile made of chiseled muscle soaring in from the rafters to annihilate the rim and anything in a 40 foot radius. He’s like if Kevin Durant was taller and more athletic, had no jump shot, and still dominated because he could get all the way to the cup and jam on anyone unfortunate enough to get in his way.
Giannis set up for this like he was about to do the high jump, and in a way he did. pic.twitter.com/mN813GrbHi
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
Antetokounmpo added eight dunks to his league-leading total of 118, and he’s only needed assists on 54 percent of them. The player with the next most jams and a higher unassisted rate is Jayson Tatum, who has 26 dunks this season.
This should be against the law pic.twitter.com/OjgSmxUd7G
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 15, 2018
He’s increased his shooting percentage every year and is hitting 58 percent this season, but that’s more about shot selection than an improvement on his jumper. 71 percent of his attempts and 89 percent of his makes are inside of eight feet, both career highs.
This is KD-esque pic.twitter.com/SSNFe2ormK
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
When you see his jump shot, it makes sense that he does most of his damage at or near the rim. The kid is only 24 and has time to develop his shot, but right now most defenses are totally fine with him settling for shots like these.
Did somebody open a door or something? pic.twitter.com/aA2KmPXEPp
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
bruh pic.twitter.com/j10F7YeTTG
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
The Greek Freak is one of the rare players in the modern NBA who can thrive without any consistent jump shot to speak of. It’s because he can get to the rim in so many ways. He’s a versatile big man who can operate out of the post and as either half of a pick and roll.
Dribble handoff, makes room with the screen, power dribble, power finish. pic.twitter.com/YU1XAZ7Ssu
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
Elbow post up, DHO fake, face up, spin move, jump stop, pump fake, and 1.
Took four seconds. pic.twitter.com/IhygODed72— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
This time, Giannis is the roll man pic.twitter.com/X0KqaiZ6YY
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
He’s also one of the most dangerous cutters in the league. There is no reasonable expectation of stopping him in transition, and if a defender gets lulled to sleep by a ball-handler in the half court, it’s over.
Giannis catches Nance watching the ball and cuts right to the rim pic.twitter.com/EWH6UQxx1s
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
This is about as well as you can defend the Greek Freak cutting on a fast break pic.twitter.com/ha75WYdP28
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
Giannis set up for this like he was about to do the high jump, and in a way he did. pic.twitter.com/mN813GrbHi
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
Giannis isn’t a good shooter yet, but his interior dominance allows him to create plenty of outside looks for teammates. He created 15 points off of threes, and he did it out of the post, in transition, and playing as a point forward with the entire defense focused on him.
Giannis gets out on the break, draws four defenders and hits the open shooter pic.twitter.com/k1VJgX25Fg
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
Elbow post up, quick read and perfect pass pic.twitter.com/aYUFH8JMMi
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
Giannis assisted on 15 points worth of three-pointers. pic.twitter.com/ReeVhToj0x
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
Antetokounmpo’s other assists were easy layups that resulted from the defense committing the two help defenders necessary to prevent him from attacking the basket.
The Cavs basically have to triple Giannis on this post up, and he passes over the top of it for a layup. pic.twitter.com/XtE3GEvMF2
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
Giannis knows help is coming this late in the shot clock, so he makes a quick move and finds a layup. pic.twitter.com/O18IAqMCRp
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
Giannis passed like a point guard and rebounded like a center, snagging 14 boards and four on the offensive end. He has a habit of turning misses into very loud makes.
Box out, board, easy jam pic.twitter.com/n0viQauJYm
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
Giannis looks like a grown man playing against middle schoolers on a nerf hoop pic.twitter.com/CTFa8ZvMj9
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
One of his two misses at the rim turned into his third straight putback pic.twitter.com/1y2PuJ0m08
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) December 16, 2018
How does Giannis Antetokounmpo dominate in modern basketball without a jump shot? He just does everything else better than most could ever hope to.
