Giannis Antetokounmpo is set up for dominance when NBA season resumes
Giannis Antetokounmpo is set up for dominance if season resumes
When – and if – the NBA returns to finish out their 2019-20 season, there is going to be one player who will have an advantage, reigning (and likely 2020 league) MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Last year Giannis told ESPN he was at 60 percent of his potential, which seemed low based on his current ability as a player. His lack of a jump shot does mean he is not yet a complete player even as the league MVP.
Giannis now has the potential to dominate these playoffs without even needing to use a jumper. When the NBA returns things are going to be rough, teams will be out of sync. Players will need to work on conditioning.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo has been outstanding in 2019-20
While the league has shifted to a 3-point crazed league, Giannis plays like a more flexible version of Shaq. Giannis shoots about 46 percent of his shots from less than three feet from the basket and makes 76 percent of them.
Giannis will enter the postseason as the third-leading scorer in the league at 29.6 points per contest and third-leading rebounder at 13.7 boards per game. While only playing 30.9 minutes a game. His per 36 average is 34.5 points and 16 rebounds per game.
Now is the time for Giannis to lock in and become Freiza from Dragon Ball Z. Frieza once powered up to a massive bulky size he called his final form, he thought it was his final form then only to find a golden one later. Giannis is not an anime character but he does score at even more historic rate than some bulky bruising Hall of Famers.
If Giannis plays like an old school style similar to Charles Barkley of dominating the paint, he can use this now sprint style of a season to his advantage. Every player is coming back rested but not many have a 7-foot-3 wingspan and have a 40-inch vertical.
At most Giannis will have to play around 25 games, and it could be fewer if he sweeps teams in the first and second rounds of the playoffs. If Giannis can harness his inner Shaq he can make quick work on a run to the NBA Finals.
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Giannis started this season averaging 32 and 13 in November it is easy to assume that he should be able to return to action without losing a step. Making it clear that even while not at full potential the players returning from this layoff will not be able to handle his pre-final form.