Milwaukee Bucks: Debunking the myth of Milwaukee’s ‘Batman and Robin’
Debunking the ‘Batman and Robin’ narrative that has been trending regarding the Milwaukee Bucks.
Hey guys, been a hot second. While I have not been writing articles as often as a few months ago, I have not been taking time off from basketball. I went to the first six home games of the Milwaukee Bucks‘ playoff run (big shout out to student tickets) and racked up a 5-1 record in the those games. I’ve also been very active on NBA Twitter where most of the playoff discourse has taken place.
And hooo boy has discourse been taking place. Y’all have called every star in the playoffs both a fraud and the best of all time. Coaches, players, general managers thrown under the bus. Heck, neither conference finals series has concluded and there’s a multitude of people already calling this title an “asterisk title.”
Quick question for you third graders: when was the last title that counted for you guys? It couldn’t have been the Los Angeles Lakers beating the injured Miami Heat last season. Or the Toronto Raptors beating the injured Golden State Warriors the season before. Chris Paul missed the last two games of the 2018 WCF so those Warriors had to be frauds too right? Or how about Kawhi Leonard missing all of the 2017 WCF against the same frauds?
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Oh, what, you’re going to count LeBron James’ title in Cleveland against a hobbled Stephen Curry and Draymond Green being suspended for Game 6 of the Finals? And I know you’re not counting Steph’s first ring against the Cavs without both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving?
I think I have made my point. Obviously the past half decade of titles have not been all fraudulent. None of them have. Neither will this years. If you’re so mad that the Phoenix Suns get to play the LA Clippers without Kawhi, then the No. 1 record in the league Utah Jazz should have beaten them. Oh, they couldn’t? Tough. Oh, the Bucks get to play an inexperienced 5-seed in the Eastern Conference Finals? I guess the No. 1 East record 76ers should have blown by them too then, right? Get over it.
That’s not what I’m writing about today, despite dedicating the first four paragraphs of the article seething about it. No, today I am writing about the myth of the Milwaukee Bucks’ “Batman and Robin.”
The Bucks are enjoying their most successful playoff run since 2019 where they built a 2-0 lead against the Raptors in the ECF and subsequently choked. Lost four straight. The DNA of this Bucks team has changed dramatically since then, with and infusion of both talent and mentality. Jrue Holiday, PJ Tucker, and Bobby Portis both bring value on the court for their tremendous play but also their ‘dog’ mentality, refusing to quit or cower.
The two players leading the charge are also the two players who have been on the roster the longest: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. And boy are they doing their part.
Giannis and Middleton have fueled the Milwaukee Bucks’ deep playoff run
Giannis is averaging 29.2 points, 13 rebounds, 5.4 assists, one steal, and nearly one block per game in the playoffs while shooting 54.6 percent from the field. He would be the first player in NBA history to average that in the playoffs if it holds up. He has been a monster on both ends of the floor in the 14 games he’s played so far this postseason. He has nine 30-point, 10-rebound games in these series, something that hasn’t been done since Shaq did it 13 times in 2000, over a decade ago.
Oh, he has not ben doing it alone either. While it has been a team effort, Middleton has been the obvious partner in the Bucks’ success up to this 2-1 lead in the ECF. He’s averaging 23.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game these playoffs with .433/.355/.871 shooting splits. In the Game 3 win against the Atlanta Hawks, Middleton had the second game in Bucks playoff history with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists (five 3’s). The first game…also belonged to Middleton.
In that same game, he scored 38 points and outscored the Hawks 20-17 in the fourth quarter, leading a rally by the Bucks to steal a lead in the series. He has been clutch his whole career but especially in this playoff series, with a signature moment in each round. He hit the game-winner with 0.3 seconds left to win Game 1 against the Heat in the first round.
He hit the go ahead bucket despite struggling throughout the earlier quarters to beat the Brooklyn Nets in Game 7. And now he has put a stamp on the Hawks. It does not appear that he is slowing down either.
The Bucks have one of the best tandems remaining in the NBA playoffs. In fact, in Game 3 against the Hawks, Giannis and Khris became the first pair of teammates to each record 30 points and 10 rebounds in the same game in THREE GAMES in a single postseason. So, the narrative should be how good the Bucks duo is and how much of a threat they are for the title, right?
Hahahah. Come on, this is Milwaukee we’re talking about. When would the national media ever give us our flowers? Heck, they were writing articles about Giannis’ free throw shooting before acknowledging his once-in-a-lifetime numbers during this run. No, of course the narrative is now that Khris Middleton is better than Giannis and that Giannis is the “Robin” to his “Batman.”
So even in the midst of his own and his team’s best playoff run, there is still a way to belittle Giannis. It is not that Khris is outperforming him on the box score, no. It is that Khris is the one initiating the offense in crunch time in the fourth quarter and Giannis is setting screens.
Naturally, that means that Giannis doesn’t have the ‘killer instinct’ of a GOAT or that he is somehow less of a player because of this. Kendrick Perkins, ever the basketball genius, said the “Batman and Robin” thing basically word for word on ESPN earlier today. There’s been a whole lot of discourse from ‘bag twitter’ today essentially saying the same thing.
But here’s the thing. These people don’t watch the games. You know how I know? Because I do. I’ve been to half of them myself. First, this system works perfectly for the Bucks. Yes, it is true that Giannis is not the best iso scorer in the league, especially if that possession ends in a jumper. Khris Middleton IS elite at that and HAS been in the clutch this postseason. Of course you should be running those possessions with Middleton at the helm. But you know what Giannis is elite (if not the best in today’s NBA) at? Offensive rebounding. Running a pick-and-roll with an elite iso shooter like Middleton while having the bulldozer that is Giannis running for the rebound is a lose-lose for opponents, as we have seen so far.
At the same time, though, Giannis has done his fair share of iso scoring in the clutch as well. Remember that go ahead bucket Khris hit in overtime to beat the Nets in Game 7? Well, Giannis scored the basket to tie it up a possession prior. He banged with KD in the post, driving him to the middle of the paint, and hit a tough hook for two. In last night’s game, he posted up Danilo Gallinari and his a sweeeeeet fadeaway to go up seven with a minute left. He’s done both iso scoring and clutch facilitating/rebounding in the playoffs, and it would take you paying just half attention to see that.
That’s all I have to say. All I ask is that you guys actually watch the games before spouting some lame opinion. Giannis is not a Robin and Middleton is not some run of the mill sidekick.
Next. NBA Trade Rumors: 5 teams best-positioned to acquire Damian Lillard. dark
Oh, one last thing. You know who could not care less about the narrative anyways?
"[via USA Today]Giannis: “I want to be a winner. I have the whole game to be ‘the guy’. I don’t care about being the guy in the fourth quarter. I trust Khris to death. If Khris asks for the ball, better give him the ball.”"
Peace out First Takers, see ya next time.