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MINNEAPOLIS – A minute and a half away from the first quarter of what would become an absolutely mundane match between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, a play perfectly illustrates the fact that these Bucks have become not only one of the most more intriguing this young season of the NBA, but also in a team that could actually enter the top tier of the Eastern Conference.
Malcolm Brogdon brought the ball to the field and dribbled inside the 3-point line. Near the top of the key, he stooped to the left, saw a John Henson open in the corner and pushed him.
It is there that things have become interesting. In the first five years of his NBA career, Henson attempted a total of six 3 points. He made zero. Last year, his sixth year in the NBA, was a record year in shot over the last five. In 76 games and nearly 2,000 minutes of play, Henson made seven shots on goal. He even made one.
But during the off-season, the Bucks hired Mike Budenholzer as a new coach. In their first interview after the rental, Bud had a surprising message for Henson.
"When he was hired, he called me and said:" You should work in your corner 3. Pull a lot, every day, nothing else. " Henson told me before the Bucks embarrassed the Timberwolves, 125-95. "That kind of thing kicked the ball in. But when we got to the training camp, he wants you to shoot that shot, trust him, specifically the corner 3. And if you have a top quadrant 3, or over the break, if you want to pull it, pull it with confidence. "
So when Brogdon passed the ball with the Bucks up to five points at the end of the first quarter, Henson did not hesitate to hesitate – even though he was 10 seconds off the clock. He raised and threw a 3. And he drained it.
Henson did another 3 open late in the third quarter of the eruption and then another one in the garbage time. That meant he had three points in his first five games this season after scoring one in the first 391 games of his career.
No team seems different this season from last season, while Milwaukee Bucks are still there. And no other 2018-2019 team shows better how the NBA's modern attitude towards efficiency – space the floor and take the best pictures, those at the edge or at outside the 3-point line – only these bucks.
In other words, it would seem that the most impactful off-season acquisition of the NBA, other than LeBron James, is actually … Mike Budenholzer.
The Bucks averaged 41.8 attempts a game-high 3 points per game this year, and 39.8 percent of their points went up by 3, 0.1 percent less than the Rockets. ranking leaders in the league.
Compare the modern offensive system of the Bucks, which gives special importance to shots to the basket and 3 points, to the flawed and outdated offense of last season. Last season, the Bucks scored 24.7 per second, earning them 25th in the NBA and 15 points lower this season. A bit of perspective: this means that the Bucks are shooting an extra 3 points this season for every three minutes of play. Last season, less than a quarter (24.9%) of the Bucks points were won by the 3 points.
From 300 meters, the philosophy resembles what the Cleveland Cavaliers have done in recent seasons with LeBron James: Take a world physical monster – in the case of the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo – surround him with shooters and give them the perpetual green light on open planes. Brook Lopez and Ersan Ilyasova's acquisitions during the off-season have not really made waves in the free agent market, but the two large floor spacings match exactly what Budenholzer wanted to do.
And Giannis kissed him.
Check out these wacky numbers from Bucks that NBA member Dean Maniatt (@AllTheBucks) posted on Twitter before the Timberwolves game:
Last year, here is how Giannis's helpers were distributed: 47.6% of his helpers were three shots, 18.6 at the halfway mark and 33.8% at the rim.
This season, 70% of Giannis's help was scored by a 3, while only 7.6% was shot half-way and 22.3% by the rim.
The Bucks are shooting less midfield shots – the least efficient in the NBA – than nearly all teams, averaging 6.8 mid-range shots per game. This ranks 29 in the league. Only Rockets shoot less than the Bucks. A year ago, MIlwaukee had averaged 17.3 shots per game; 17 teams fired less mid-range shots than they did.
Even former President Barack Obama has noticed. When he made a campaign stop in Wisconsin on Friday, he told the crowd: "Giannis is ballin".
Just as it would be foolish to trust rankings or advanced stats so early in the season, it would also be silly to read too deeply into the extinction of a team like the Timberwolves. At present, there is more confused team in the NBA, and judging by the body language, more confused and depressed team. Jimmy Butler's trade request darkens every game and will continue to do so until it is shipped out of the city. Karl-Anthony Towns seems angry. On Friday night, local fans booed head coach Tom Thibodeau during the presentations. They booed again when the Wolves lost 19 points in the second quarter, and again when Jimmy Butler started a pull-up at the end of the first half before the Timberwolves found themselves in the locker room.
But it would not be stupid to read in-depth the hot start of these Bucks, one of four remaining undefeated teams in the NBA, and more importantly, How they made a good start ("Tonight is exactly what we want to play," Giannis said Friday). In just a few months, Budenholzer seems to have unlocked a key from Giannis's game that Jason Kidd has never found.
Bucks rookie Donte DiVincenzo felt that would be the case. The Bucks told him about their new direction during the drafting process, that they were opening their offensive goal and that his versatility and shooting ability were inspired by their plans. It was also very similar to the system he had played with the Villanova team that had won the national championship by spreading the floor with excellent 3-pointers.
"I was just telling the coach the other day that the similarity is pretty scary," DiVincenzo told CBS Sports. "Last year, we spaced each man. [This year] Brook jumps on the three, makes the three fall. All that I have done last year is reflected in this year. "
Perhaps most noteworthy is the speed with which the Bucks made this transition. I asked Budenholzer why it was so and if the key was to keep things simple.
"[Simplicity in coaching] It's something I believe in, Budenholzer said. If we can simplify things for players and put them in a position where they play and compete, I think it puts them in the best position to succeed. I am very conscientious not to overload them or give them too much, and the next step is to keep things simple. There is a lot to say for that. "
This really seems like a pretty simple solution to unleashing the possibilities of a team that has one of the most physically dominant players on the planet. Giannis can be a black hole in which the opposing defenses collapse. And when they do – when Giannis's gravity rushes to the edge, forces two or three defenders to help their man – he's an incredibly willing smuggler.
Until now it works perfectly. It may be too early to say that the Bucks are in the same category as the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors; we are not yet two weeks in the season. But if this style of play continues, and if the Bucks continue to roll in the coming weeks, it will become an increasingly strong narrative in the NBA.
"It's simple: if you're open, shoot it, if you're not, go, move around, set up a screen," Henson told CBS Sports. "It worked for us.We are moving the ball well and it's fun.New faces, new voices, it's cool.Only a lighter environment."
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