Giannis Is Playing for a Pretty Decent Team
Back in the last century -- 1979-1981 -- if you wanted to watch the NBA Finals and weren't in the arena, odds are you'd have to wait for late-night TV.
As in tape delay at 11:30pm for the league's championship series games.
That's when then-Commish David Stern decided something had to be done to increase visibility, and he had just the assets to feature in his new strategy:
Stern figured names on the back of jerseys were just as -- if not more -- important to popularizing a league that was basically viewed by hardcore hoops fans and hardly anyone else.
He was right.
Promoting the game's stars put the NBA on a larger map, and the league flourished.
Sometimes, this happens at the cost of overshadowing the star's team.
Like Milwaukee, through no real fault of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Dude's doing his bit for the cause, or course, like averaging 30 points and 13.5 rebounds per game this season. Maybe James Harden's scoring 35.2 points per game, but Mr Greek Freak (34.9) ranks ahead of him (34.2) in scoring per 36 minutes, which is considered a more accurate measure of scoring volume.
The Bucks are more than the Pips to Giannis' Gladys Knight, though.
Cream City's rolling through one of the best regular seasons in NBA history ...
- 45-7 record: They're on pace to win 71 games, something only two teams have ever done: the 1995-96 Bulls (72-10) and the 2015-16 Warriors (73-9).
- +12.4 scoring margin: It's higher than any team's full-season rate in NBA history.
- Efficiency: The Deer rank second in the league in offensive efficiency (behind Dallas) and first in defensive efficiency (ahead of Toronto).
After picking up Marvin Williams, Milwaukee's rotation is now better than two-deep:
- PG: Eric Bledsoe, George Hill
- SG: Wesley Matthew, Donte DiVincenzo, Kyle Korver
- SF: Khris Middleton, Pat Connaughton, Sterling Brown
- PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ersan İlyasova, Marvin Williams
- C: Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez
What's more amazing, though, is this:
This can occur when highlight videos are crammed with feats of Giannis proportions:
Milwaukee's the league's fourth-smallest market, ahead of only Oklahoma City, New Orleans and Memphis. It's only heyday was when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led them to the 1971 NBA title before demanding a trade to Tinseltown.
That may not happen with Giannis. Dude values loyalty, and so far at least, that includes his to the franchise and the city, whether or not he has to wait for his tacos.
Odds are, if the Bucks get to 60 wins, as looks probable, they might see the national spotlight expanded to bring their entire roster outta the shadows. The post-season oughta take care of itself.