It also helps when you have two former defensive players of the year in Kawhi and Gasol, an elite defender in Siakim, another elite defender in Green, an elite rim protector in Ibaka, and another elite defender in Lowry.
Man!! This video just shows how much Giannis had evolved and why Jrue Holiday made the Bucks so much better. And makes us miss Kawhi even more 😂 Great video
Enea Buraku Kawhi absolutely locked him up when he did guard him. Giannis shot 23 percent from the field when being guarded by Kawhi and his FG % per 100 possessions while being guarded by Kawhi was 15 PERCENT. that is disgusting
Enea Buraku lol that’s the saddest retort i’ve ever heard. he totally was guarded one on one he just passed it out or missed his shot. Keep making excuses for the dude though he didn’t play up to his standard and got outmatches by Kawhi. I know he’s young but sheesh if he’s considered a superstar by you and others then he needs to get criticism superstars do.
@@AyoJeezy he deserves criticism for not making free throws not for being locked by kawhi wich clearly wasnt true and how did his teammates get open for him to make a pass your genius?
Enea Buraku kawhi guarded him on 160 possessions, held him to 30 points total, under 30% from the field, and turned it over 8 times. At some point you have to pull giannis’ wiener out of your mouth and realize he didn’t play well. And idk where your getting this nonsense that Kawhi never guarded him 1 on 1 he absolutely did. If you’re gonna make excuses for Giannis at least by correct.
My takeaways are: Nick Nurse is a great coach. The Kawhi defense stopping Giannis is kind of a false narrative, even if Kawhi did a good job. I don't think the narrative truly appreciates how valuable the bigs, especially Marc Gasol was in containing Giannis with their team scheme. Kawhi is more likely to stay in TO than I thought with coaching and teamwork like this.
Snails They really improved on what the Celtics tried for the first 2 games and they stayed committed. Maybe if the Celtics didn’t get rattled every time it didn’t work we could’ve seen a Celtics Raptors Conference finals
It really isn’t a ‘false narrative’, sure he didn’t do AS WELL as some would say but as the video states the ‘Giannis rules’ were being deployed the whole time and yet he still shot considerably worse when Kawhi was his primary defender compared to everyone else.
@@duncanspurs5436 You do realize Nick Nurse wasn't the coach then, right? So coaching really doesn't factor into your point. As for front office, Masai Ujiri may be great, but he's no Jerry West. And lastly, the roster isn't the same as the team who made the ECF, in fact, not even close. 6 of 16 players were in Toronto last season, so your point fails on that as well. Plus, it seems you haven't watched NBA at all this season, so let me tell you, when it comes to teamwork and team chemistry, the Clippers are easily top 5. All in all, your point is just terrible. To be blunt, you're just plain wrong.
@@leonardopurba.s the bucks may have if Eric Bledsoe could shoot, granted, steph curry has really good pass perception so idk if (assuming the warriors use the same gameplan that the raptors did) giannis would always be able to get it to him.
Its been the story when defending against very dominant players. From Jordan, Shaq, Kobe, etc. The best shot is for a team to have the personnel to throw bodies constantly at said dominant player and force the teammates to create by putting the ball on the floor. In the Bucks case Bledsoe was not a great alternative. In the Raps case they have Lowry and Siakam who are reliable besides Kawhi and a few other guys like VanVleet when they get the hot hand.
Became my favorite when he made that defense analysis of lebron. Unbiased and informative with video clips to prove what was supposed to happen and why the play broke down
I just dont know how he went from being a top 3 Big man in the league a couple of years ago to being trash through most of the playoffs until a few games into the ECF.
Best analyst out there... would much rather watch this than Colin, Chris, Shannon and others talk about LeBron all day and where KD is going to end up. Thanks for your hard work!
To this day I still feel Milwaukee should have traded for CP3. He’s better at all the reading of the game and while he may not entirely fit because the bucks don’t run a lot of pick and rolls he would always find a way to make it work and when they do run a pick and roll just imagine a CP3 Giannis pick and roll? That’s filthy...
Octopi mate you do realise they can trade for him yes? Bledsoe is on 15 million lopez is on 12 million and Ersan is on 7 that equals 34 million and DJ Wilson makes them close to 40 million yes they give up a lot but the difference between CP3 to Bledsoe imo is worth it so don’t be a dumbass 😂
Jonas Conrad honestly though bballbreakdown at least gives Kawhi proper credit for that series and the effect he had on giannis both physically and mentally by matching up with him
What other players historically have warranted this kind of defensive scheme against them? I am wondering if Giannis is already in an elite set of players or not.
God Of Disco that ain’t a good thing if u can scheme against then it shows how dominant he was but it also show that Giannis isn’t a top 3 player in the league yet he’s gotta add a better 3 mid range game post fade something
lebron james entire 2018 finals run - except lebron's extraordinary pasing ability , secure handles & shot making burnt teams despite surrounded by role players
You can do this because giannis can't shot nor pass. Curry and LeBron can pass and shoot and handle. Defense can remove one or two of those from a player but a good player knows when to delegate the work. If you remove giannis ability to dunk over people he is done.
Aren't all superstars schemed against like this in the playoffs tho? KD, Lebron, Curry, Harden even Kawhi required team defense. Superstars in the league will just eat up the defense if they aren't schemed against with multiple help defenders
This wall is definitely similar to the Jordan scheme. I'd also like to mention that the Raptors defense against Giannis looks a lot like the defense the Celtics utilized against Kobe in the 2008 finals. It interests me that even best scorers of all time can be stopped reliably by skillful defensive scheming, mindful coaching and strong execution.
the part that doesnt make sense is brad stevens used the same wall in the previous series and giannis figured it out after 1 game... this defense is more of a box and one mixed with trapping because giannis always kills plain zones
@@CGoon1993 But thats the thing.Bucks won 2 first games.Alot of media hype after game about Kawhi guarding giannis. And the numbers do show this .....when Kawhi started to be the primary defender of giannis thats when it started to work. (offensive rating of bucks when giannis not guarded by Leonard : 110 when guarded by Leonard 88....thats from games 3 and 4) The video does not mention or really dive into it.... So in the end was Kawhi the difference maker? And if not why did Nick nurse put Kawhi on giannis for so many minutes when kawhi was hobbled? Unless he had game changing impact i do not understand it.... Would the wall be enough if nurse didnt put kawhi more on giannis?
@@otinane4051 Kawhi is the best perimeter defender in the league so for sure , a system like the wall, is better with the best defender of the league on it, the only problem is that the media talk about it like it was Kawhi vs LeBron 1vs1 and like Gasol, Lowry, Siakam, Ibaka from the bench didn't take a part on it. Like it was always a Kawhi 1vs 1 against Giannis, and personnally if Nurse didn't put Kawhi alone on Giannis (like Pop did against LeBron), on the post or perimeter it's maybe for something don't you think? I would love to see Kawhi vs Giannis 1vs1 during a whole series, BUT this time with Giannis defending on Kawhi too, because I think ppl underestimate Giannis defense too much (the real reason the Bucks was still on the games 3, 5 and 6)
"Giannis won some of these battles." *shows Giannis miss four field goals against Kawhi* Great breakdown, but anyone who has played long enough knows that missing good looks can still sometimes be credited to the defender because you were never able to fully gain comfort in getting to your spot. Credit to Nurse and Gasol for this series-winning schemes, but Kawhi did as well as anybody in the league defending Giannis 1-on-1.
Ill take Siakam over Kawhi 1 on 1 defending Giannis. Besides, 1 on 1 defense is overrated to me, thus Kawhi received too much credit for last years playoffs imo.
Great analysis. As a Pistons fan, knowing the Jordan Rules (as well as LeBron rules), I said before our series started that this was how we needed to play the Bucks in Rd 1. Casey had other plans (lol), but I knew their shooters were overrated, and combined with Giannis' inability to shoot, all a team has to do is pack the paint - double/triple Giannis off their least shooters - and commit to it, and the Bucks offense will crumble over a 7 game series. As their shooters aren't good enough to beat you if Giannis can't get to the rim. So it was a joy to watch the Raps follow the Giannis Rules to success, after watching the Pistons/Celtics series'.
there are grown men who get paid millions who cant do what youre doing here. you probably wont see this, but if you do i 100% support what you’re doing here and you deserve all the credit you can get.
I like the way you say “Gasol”. You sound like a French chef, lol. Love your videos man. Making a lot of other NBA channels look lazy with how in depth you get.
what exactly does giannis practice when he doesn't have much of a traditional post game or a pure jumper? like does he just run full court and dunk during practice?
He's actually improved alot these years and plus it's usually harder for a big guy like giannis to develop a jumper when he didn't have anything like one his whole life
These are the best basketball videos I've seen on youtube. I love the in-depth analysis and editing to clearly illustrate your points. It's crazy to me that you don't have a larger following. Keep it up and I'm sure you'll keep growing!
Combination of wear and tear, choking, and crowd getting to his head. It is bad, but I wouldn't panic until the new season starts and he's having trouble.
You still have to give Kawhi credit, he was strong and fast enough to keep Giannis in front of him until the help or the wall was built. The first 2 games, he was cooking siakim. Wasn’t strong or quick to enough to keep Giannis infront of him
You can see him body Giannis. Gasol is there to help but in games 1 and 2. Gasol and Siakam were his primary defenders and they couldn't do anything. This guy never liked Kawhi tbh. He also has a video saying LeBron is a better defender than Kawhi.
@@MarkLaw13 Where did he say this? If your talking about that 2020 video comparing the two he explicitly states Kawhi is an All D level wing while Lebron is a rung below that. Ben has been extremely high on kawhi ever since his his first year in LA when his playmaking leveled up. He even said he could argue him as a better offensive player than kobe in an earlier video from that season(and his top 10 video at the end of that season stated he could see an argument for 2nd best player in the league) And even before that he always viewed him as one of the very best isolation scorers, shooters and defenders in the league(minus his Raptors stint where he knocked his defense because of his motor and activity, and he was still in his top 5 if i remember correctly)
I think the Bucks are going to look back on this year as a huge missed opportunity. They were literally a few buckets away from the NBA finals and getting to play an ailing Warriors team that I think they match up well against.
You sir is the best NBA analyst in YT right now. I was watching this game along with my friend and one of them was shouting so loud even screaming how Giannis is so bad at this game and what happened. I told him it's the enchanted ice wall (GOT pun for the uninitiated) and he just shrugs me off and continue screaming at the screen. 50 plus minutes later, I finally had enough and told him "Dude can't you see the 3 man wall? It's not Giannis fault!". And he screamed back: "stop using GOT puns this is serious!". A lot of people can't see the defensive adjustments and blame the the inefficiency solely on the player, even so called TV analyst are guilty of this. This is the first video I've seen that showcases that adjustment. You sir deserve to be in ESPN and not clueless and shock-reliant clowns like Max K, Stephen A, Skip, Shanon, and that Chris B (who loves flipping his statements multiple times not really knowing where he stands).
Everyone is jumping on the Giannis hate train and he is recieving criticism similar to what MJ recieved when he kept not winning in the playoffs until he was 26. It's funny watching this happen again. Giannis is great.
@@mr.denzelsausageton9719 that's the point. stop the best player. there's always some hyper sensitive jordan fan who gets offended every time someone else's name is mentioned in the same sentence as him.
Best Hoops content on RUclips, by far! I wonder, does this series change how people view Giannis as an MVP candidate year in year out and his potential to be one of the three best players of his generation? Once you get to his level it criticisms like this, about his status in the league and comparisons to the other best players become sharper and sharper.
I knew when Ben asked that question about Kawhi's D on Twitter a video was coming. And boy what a great video. This channel deserves so many more viewers and subscribers.
Let’s give plenty of individual credit to Kawhi still - I think your video sold him a little short on his play making that he showed the last two games of the series, and the defensive intimidation he provided on Giannis made him afraid to push it when he passed half court
While Kawhi is a great defender, this video is highlighting that it wasn't just Kawhi's defense that slowed the Bucks and specifically Giannis down. The Raptors defensive scheme highlighted the Bucks weaknesses, team passing and their two best playmakers, Giannis and Bledsoe, being terrible perimeter shooters. When Gasol and FVV can provide good 1on1 defense on Giannis, as in he doesn't just blow past them to the rim, that's good team defense not just Kawhi.
Christopher Munn real good points but I think Milwaukee has always been a flawed halfcourt offense and what the raptors did there was not entirely unique. Transition is their bread and butter and kawhi’s presence singlehandedly made Giannis uncomfortable to assert his will on the defense in fast break and slow break possessions.
I agree not only that it seemed like he highlighted the fact that he's not the best playmaker but never really acknowledges the holes in anyone else's game
@@obnoxiouslakerfan you still might be giving too little credit to the rest of the team. Siakim did just as well if not better than Kawhi defensively against Giannis. And still not acknowledging FVV and Gasol's ability to keep Giannis from getting to the rim.
Christopher Munn okay you lost me there bro did you see the first two games? Siakam was absolutely sonned by Giannis when he was matched up with him - Siakam looked like a deer in headlights and Giannis looked supremely confident. That’s one point in this video that I think is objectively false and I think speaks to a clear bias against kawhi to commend pascals job on him while downplaying Kawhi’s. I’d only say siakam did a good job defending him when he only had to do so in help and for the rare possession where he switched onto him. Going into the series I thought he’d be a great matchup because of his length, but I was proven wrong when Giannis repeatedly charged and bullied him those first two games.
Dude you just eloquently put into words what I saw with my own eyes. It bothered me how all the talking heads gave all the credit for stopping Giannis and rolling the Bucks to Kawhi's on ball defense, when it was clearly a smart and connected team defense that did the lions share of the work. The way the Raptors forced the ball out of his hands and then rotated to and smothered the remaining Bucks as they tried to attack the closeouts was beautiful. Subbed.
the wall of the North lol the Bucks need more shooters and Greek Freak needs a develop a 3 point shot I don't want to say this cause I want him to stay but Draymond Green would be a perfect fit for the buck cause of his passing and defensive game
Gosh this was one of the most evenly matched series in recent history. It's interesting how heavily favored Milwuakee was by Vegas going into the series (they were something like -220), but talent wise it really was a tossup. I think people over focused on Toronto's non-Kawhi self creation struggles and slept on their defense. I think Ben refers to this as "offensive bias"
Something in me loves Marc Gasol's defense more than Rudy Gobert for example. He moves around so well,uses his body and hands perfectly. Is not flashy but is pretty deadly.
I agree with this channel on just about every point except for downplaying the terror that kawhi inspires on defense when he’s matched up with any superstar. Lebron, KD Harden, Giannis, all of them feel an uncharacteristic terror when they have to stare down the Klaw when making their moves on the perimeter
Yeah, most of the footage of Giannis "winning" against him one on one were still misses loll. Those were some psychological effects, mssing wide open layups and dunks like that
@@devvv4616 hundred percent. IDK how Siakam got a shoutout when he had a very poor series overall - it wouldn't have been so close if he and Danny Green had done their thing, since it's not like the Bucks were the only team that had guys underperform
The Raptors' focus on team defense post season was a sight to behold. They were like a web and it challenged teams to play better basketball. We ended up seeing teams looking baffled on what to do where nothing came easy. The look on the other teams' faces was priceless.
Siakam is not one of the best at defending Giannis. He was getting cooked by him in the first two games then they devopled the Giannis rules to stop him.
I'm disappointed you didn't mention how Nick Nurse would alternate between playing a 1-2-2 zone, a 3-2 zone and a man-to-man defense combined with automatic doubling of Giannis on the perimeter or post, depending on who was out on the floor. That combination of schemes was clearly too much for Mike Budenholzer to handle, especially on game 5.
They TRIED to do this, but with a damn good playmaker in Holiday and Middleton 3.0, they can't afford to build a complete wall, so Giannis can go ham. It also doesn't help Giannis suddenly developed a jumper and has improved consistently as a passer
@@avimah5019 The Raptors won because Kawhi is healthy, not because KD was injured. That's a pathetic excuse. Staying healthy till the end is all part of this sports, that's why Raptors management sat out Kawhi on back to back games on regular season, just to make sure kawhi would be healthy the entire Playoffs.
Jarl Borg It’s really not KD completely spaces the floor out so Curry and Klay cannot get doubled or tripled teamed and Draymond can play make better when KD was on the floor
@@jarlborg2102 the 2017 wcf was just 1 game. Spurs was dominant until Kawhi injured, no one really knows what outcome that will be if Kawhi was not injured. The regular season this year, yes the warriors lost to the raptors but playoffs is a whole different ball game. It like last year ECF when people expected Celtics to beat the Cavs. But LeBron is LeBron and he got the Cavs to the finals. Same way KD is KD and I think you underestimating the great player he is.
Bledsoe wasn't the only problem, at least he played solid defense. Lopez didn't hit threes, Giannis was trash at the free throw line, Middleton completely dissapeared for a couple games... Fred VanVleet turned into Steph Curry 2.0 the last three games... the Bucks were up 2-0 honestly I think that series could have gone either way but mostly the Bucks choked.
@@carlosmatos9848 I agree Giannis wasn't shooting his free throws effectively, but you can't argue the pressure was against him. Having Middleton and Bledsoe step up by scoring relieves him of having to focus more offensively, but at the line he knows he has to make those freethrows but pressure can get you and i can't blame him his 24 yr old which is still young.
@@carlosmatos9848 I also dont think Bucks choked I think pressure got to them thats really it I mean who has been on that stage besides Hill? Once they were lost the first two at raps they knew it was going to be a very tough series.
I really really really hope Bledsoe develops a 3 pt shot in this off season. Giving him that contract just hearts my soul. We don’t have time to make financial mistakes like that
This is what I love about the playoffs...Adjustments are made properly by studying a player's go to move and potential spots where he will be having a problem ....Kawhi guarding Giannis was a great move
The way Toronto approached Giannis makes me excited to see how he might better himself to avoid tough situations like this in the future or how to better handle them I think it will ultimately lead to Giannis developing much better court vision
i'd love to see you breakdown the raptors defense against curry and the warriors in the finals just like you did in this video, great analysis, i smashed that sub button
Masterful job by the Raptors to exploit the Buck’s weaknesses. This video also shows that improvements in passing vision will make Giannis close to unstoppable even if he never becomes an outside shooter. Gotta wonder though if the Bucks will ever regret that Bledsoe extension this year
Great analysis and shows the actuall problem. Bledsoe chocked when Vanvleet exploded. If it wasn't for Vanvleet we wouldn't be talking about Kawhi now.
if guarding giannis is required both good speed and length and strength to stay in front of him and affect his shots around the rim, then ben simmons would be one of the greatest “anti-giannis” defenders. He has one of the best perimeter defenses for a big man, but he can also stay in the paint and block a lot of shots, this was demonstrated a lot in the second round last year against the hawks
It also helps when you have two former defensive players of the year in Kawhi and Gasol, an elite defender in Siakim, another elite defender in Green, an elite rim protector in Ibaka, and another elite defender in Lowry.
Ephraim Miala no
TheSwagIsBack look at footage your no is invalid lol either curry was guarded well or curry isn’t as clutch as people thought when he’s guarded well
@@spoonsVSforks true
TheSwagIsBack you must not have seen the footage ... yes 🤣, he the reason the won
Video should've been titled "Eric Bledsoe cant shoot and it's killing the Bucks" lol
Brodie is too good for attention grabbing titles like that.
That's so true
I appreciate that Ben doesn't do clickbait titles like this tho
@@burner1303 its only clickbait if its untrue. He talks about Bledsoe lack of shooting more than anything else.
Bro your comment had me spitting out my drink. Bravo
This channel deserves to have over a million subs man. Your content is unbelievable! Hope you blow up dude.
he will
And we'll be here telling everybody I told you
Definitely agree
So do you like him or want him to die?
Maybe he'll get a gig at ESPN..
Man!! This video just shows how much Giannis had evolved and why Jrue Holiday made the Bucks so much better.
And makes us miss Kawhi even more 😂
Great video
Raps played Giannis so well. I breathed a sigh of relief whenever he was forced to take a jumpshot
Enea Buraku Kawhi absolutely locked him up when he did guard him. Giannis shot 23 percent from the field when being guarded by Kawhi and his FG % per 100 possessions while being guarded by Kawhi was 15 PERCENT. that is disgusting
@@AyoJeezy Again stats don't tell the whole story he was never guarded 1v1 so all those stats are fake.
Enea Buraku lol that’s the saddest retort i’ve ever heard. he totally was guarded one on one he just passed it out or missed his shot. Keep making excuses for the dude though he didn’t play up to his standard and got outmatches by Kawhi. I know he’s young but sheesh if he’s considered a superstar by you and others then he needs to get criticism superstars do.
@@AyoJeezy he deserves criticism for not making free throws not for being locked by kawhi wich clearly wasnt true and how did his teammates get open for him to make a pass your genius?
Enea Buraku kawhi guarded him on 160 possessions, held him to 30 points total, under 30% from the field, and turned it over 8 times. At some point you have to pull giannis’ wiener out of your mouth and realize he didn’t play well. And idk where your getting this nonsense that Kawhi never guarded him 1 on 1 he absolutely did. If you’re gonna make excuses for Giannis at least by correct.
My takeaways are:
Nick Nurse is a great coach.
The Kawhi defense stopping Giannis is kind of a false narrative, even if Kawhi did a good job. I don't think the narrative truly appreciates how valuable the bigs, especially Marc Gasol was in containing Giannis with their team scheme.
Kawhi is more likely to stay in TO than I thought with coaching and teamwork like this.
Snails They really improved on what the Celtics tried for the first 2 games and they stayed committed. Maybe if the Celtics didn’t get rattled every time it didn’t work we could’ve seen a Celtics Raptors Conference finals
Kawhii wants to live in LA, and in terms of coaching, teamwork and front office, the Clippers are just as good as the Raptors.
@@rg7535 No they are not. Even without Kawhi, Raptors made ECF
It really isn’t a ‘false narrative’, sure he didn’t do AS WELL as some would say but as the video states the ‘Giannis rules’ were being deployed the whole time and yet he still shot considerably worse when Kawhi was his primary defender compared to everyone else.
@@duncanspurs5436 You do realize Nick Nurse wasn't the coach then, right? So coaching really doesn't factor into your point. As for front office, Masai Ujiri may be great, but he's no Jerry West. And lastly, the roster isn't the same as the team who made the ECF, in fact, not even close. 6 of 16 players were in Toronto last season, so your point fails on that as well. Plus, it seems you haven't watched NBA at all this season, so let me tell you, when it comes to teamwork and team chemistry, the Clippers are easily top 5.
All in all, your point is just terrible. To be blunt, you're just plain wrong.
If the whole team is trying to stop you know you’re great
John Moreland Just like what they've been doing to LeBron. They tryna stop him because he's one of the greatest players of all time.
"you're great" doesn't mean anything if you can't win a ring.
@@leonardopurba.s the bucks may have if Eric Bledsoe could shoot, granted, steph curry has really good pass perception so idk if (assuming the warriors use the same gameplan that the raptors did) giannis would always be able to get it to him.
Leonardo Purba Stockton is arguably the greatest PG of all time with no ring.
Its been the story when defending against very dominant players. From Jordan, Shaq, Kobe, etc. The best shot is for a team to have the personnel to throw bodies constantly at said dominant player and force the teammates to create by putting the ball on the floor. In the Bucks case Bledsoe was not a great alternative. In the Raps case they have Lowry and Siakam who are reliable besides Kawhi and a few other guys like VanVleet when they get the hot hand.
You were completely right😭 Skilled Playmaker = Jrue Holiday + Improved Passing & Aggressiveness around rim? 🏆🏆🏆
You've quickly became my favorite basketball breakdown youtube channel with your in depth n fact based breakdowns such as this one.
Became my favorite when he made that defense analysis of lebron.
Unbiased and informative with video clips to prove what was supposed to happen and why the play broke down
and hes unbiased
What I learned even tho I already had an idea: Gasol is unbelievably important and still underrated.
And some dudes think he was not a factor in this series
I just dont know how he went from being a top 3 Big man in the league a couple of years ago to being trash through most of the playoffs until a few games into the ECF.
@@Seattlefan77 age
@@Seattlefan77 he's kinda old now
@@Seattlefan77 He is already 34 (35 in January 2020) and he's not that athletic to begin with.
I just realized how active Gasol was defensively in this series, we need that against GSW
Aaaaand we have it
Say no more
you got your wish
And he was , dude is slow and can play a pick and roll because of his hands and positioning unlike most nba bigs who get killed
This is fun to watch a few years later when the buck did make the adjustments that he recommended at the end that resulted in a chip.
This channel is incredible. Cant wait until you blow up.
It really is
looking back at this i understand the tucker and holiday trade
Those trades MADE defenders very honest. "Should I help Or stay on my man?" Pick your poison
My basketball IQ increases every time I watch your videos. Another great analysis.
🙏
Rewatching this now, it seems you called the primary areas for improvement the Bucks and Giannis eventually focused on
Best analyst out there... would much rather watch this than Colin, Chris, Shannon and others talk about LeBron all day and where KD is going to end up. Thanks for your hard work!
You should collab with BBaBreakDown, we need you there. Edit, analysis, and speech you're on point.
Don’t let this video distract you from the fact that Jeremy Lin got more NBA finals appearances than Camelo Anthony & Chris Paul Combined
Lin actually has to play first
Good. Fuck Melo.
@@rivalx288 Exactly. After what he did to Lin at New York, I'm happy Lin got into the finals ahead of Melo. Karma is real.
@Math Simon 🔥
@@charlesjames1702 Lmaooo first of all, lin did play, 53 secs, and how much has carmelo played? Zero.
Oh No the BEST BASKETBALL ANALYST! Out here again best content ever! Congrats bro
If you replace Bledsoe with Curry this becomes the greatest team of all time
Eric Ryan yesssss..
Or even Klay
To this day I still feel Milwaukee should have traded for CP3. He’s better at all the reading of the game and while he may not entirely fit because the bucks don’t run a lot of pick and rolls he would always find a way to make it work and when they do run a pick and roll just imagine a CP3 Giannis pick and roll? That’s filthy...
@@nathandemel8819 I am guessing you don't know what a salary cap is?
Octopi mate you do realise they can trade for him yes? Bledsoe is on 15 million lopez is on 12 million and Ersan is on 7 that equals 34 million and DJ Wilson makes them close to 40 million yes they give up a lot but the difference between CP3 to Bledsoe imo is worth it so don’t be a dumbass 😂
[Insert comment about how this is leagues better than just about every other basketball RUclips channel]
Not better than BballBreakdown
Jonas Conrad hi coach nick!
@@obnoxiouslakerfan Can you hear me shaking my head?
Jonas Conrad honestly though bballbreakdown at least gives Kawhi proper credit for that series and the effect he had on giannis both physically and mentally by matching up with him
Obnoxious Laker Fan By any Means Basketball and Coach Mike are pretty great too.
Love this channel tho
Solution: bucks fill the rest of the starting lineup with catch and shoot players
or 3 and d players
gotta trade bledsoe first :p
Selfhood Renaissance right they should trade Bledsoe to get d lo
Brogdon and middleton should have been shooting 3s all game
@@Writeous0ne in game 6 Middleton was on fire the first half then disappear in the 2 half and bucks wide open looks but could not convert
What other players historically have warranted this kind of defensive scheme against them? I am wondering if Giannis is already in an elite set of players or not.
Curry, not in terms of in being defended like Giannis, but in terms of having the defense's attention to the extent that Giannis does
God Of Disco that ain’t a good thing if u can scheme against then it shows how dominant he was but it also show that Giannis isn’t a top 3 player in the league yet he’s gotta add a better 3 mid range game post fade something
lebron james entire 2018 finals run - except lebron's extraordinary pasing ability , secure handles & shot making burnt teams despite surrounded by role players
You can do this because giannis can't shot nor pass. Curry and LeBron can pass and shoot and handle. Defense can remove one or two of those from a player but a good player knows when to delegate the work. If you remove giannis ability to dunk over people he is done.
Aren't all superstars schemed against like this in the playoffs tho? KD, Lebron, Curry, Harden even Kawhi required team defense. Superstars in the league will just eat up the defense if they aren't schemed against with multiple help defenders
This wall is definitely similar to the Jordan scheme. I'd also like to mention that the Raptors defense against Giannis looks a lot like the defense the Celtics utilized against Kobe in the 2008 finals. It interests me that even best scorers of all time can be stopped reliably by skillful defensive scheming, mindful coaching and strong execution.
the part that doesnt make sense is brad stevens used the same wall in the previous series and giannis figured it out after 1 game... this defense is more of a box and one mixed with trapping because giannis always kills plain zones
@@CGoon1993 But thats the thing.Bucks won 2 first games.Alot of media hype after game about Kawhi guarding giannis.
And the numbers do show this .....when Kawhi started to be the primary defender of giannis thats when it started to work. (offensive rating of bucks when giannis not guarded by Leonard : 110 when guarded by Leonard 88....thats from games 3 and 4)
The video does not mention or really dive into it....
So in the end was Kawhi the difference maker? And if not why did Nick nurse put Kawhi on giannis for so many minutes when kawhi was hobbled?
Unless he had game changing impact i do not understand it....
Would the wall be enough if nurse didnt put kawhi more on giannis?
@@otinane4051 Kawhi is the best perimeter defender in the league so for sure , a system like the wall, is better with the best defender of the league on it, the only problem is that the media talk about it like it was Kawhi vs LeBron 1vs1 and like Gasol, Lowry, Siakam, Ibaka from the bench didn't take a part on it.
Like it was always a Kawhi 1vs 1 against Giannis, and personnally if Nurse didn't put Kawhi alone on Giannis (like Pop did against LeBron), on the post or perimeter it's maybe for something don't you think?
I would love to see Kawhi vs Giannis 1vs1 during a whole series, BUT this time with Giannis defending on Kawhi too, because I think ppl underestimate Giannis defense too much (the real reason the Bucks was still on the games 3, 5 and 6)
You are now one of my favorite along with Coach Nick of BBall Breakdown. Keep it up man!
you are now my favorite go-to-guy for basketball breakdowns!!!
"Giannis won some of these battles."
*shows Giannis miss four field goals against Kawhi*
Great breakdown, but anyone who has played long enough knows that missing good looks can still sometimes be credited to the defender because you were never able to fully gain comfort in getting to your spot. Credit to Nurse and Gasol for this series-winning schemes, but Kawhi did as well as anybody in the league defending Giannis 1-on-1.
Ill take Siakam over Kawhi 1 on 1 defending Giannis. Besides, 1 on 1 defense is overrated to me, thus Kawhi received too much credit for last years playoffs imo.
@@BoscoTungWaldo Giannis always kills Siakim😂
@@cjthesniper show me the numbers.
@@BoscoTungWaldo lmao, just watch the game dude
Blond on Blonde I do watch the games, and I agree with Ben.
BEST Basketball channel on youtube.
This channel is easily the most interesting and insightful sports media available. This coming from a hockey guy, bball is my second sport.
Thanks for the kind words. So cool to hear stuff like this.
Love these videos. He explains complex ideas in a very simple easy to follow way.
This a great example of teamwork in defense without getting super physical
7:00
Thinking basketball :
“Sharpshooting brogdon”
Brogdon: (bricks it)
Tbh brogdon is one of the best 3pointers in the league bucks should have used brogdon and middleton catch and shoot 3s when they walled giannis
Writeous0ne I know I was making fun of the editing not brogdon cuz that mans laser guided.
Jimmy Colleran It’s not necessarily about makes or missed but about high % shots and that was a high % shot
Great analysis. As a Pistons fan, knowing the Jordan Rules (as well as LeBron rules), I said before our series started that this was how we needed to play the Bucks in Rd 1. Casey had other plans (lol), but I knew their shooters were overrated, and combined with Giannis' inability to shoot, all a team has to do is pack the paint - double/triple Giannis off their least shooters - and commit to it, and the Bucks offense will crumble over a 7 game series. As their shooters aren't good enough to beat you if Giannis can't get to the rim. So it was a joy to watch the Raps follow the Giannis Rules to success, after watching the Pistons/Celtics series'.
I knew it people was saying that Kawhi shutdown Giannis but I said that they just doubled, tripled or walled him of like the Celtics did in game 1.
there are grown men who get paid millions who cant do what youre doing here. you probably wont see this, but if you do i 100% support what you’re doing here and you deserve all the credit you can get.
The Athletic needs to hire this man, and get him the all money he deserves
I like the way you say “Gasol”. You sound like a French chef, lol. Love your videos man. Making a lot of other NBA channels look lazy with how in depth you get.
what exactly does giannis practice when he doesn't have much of a traditional post game or a pure jumper? like does he just run full court and dunk during practice?
I swear I was just thinking about this earlier today....
He's actually improved alot these years and plus it's usually harder for a big guy like giannis to develop a jumper when he didn't have anything like one his whole life
He just got stronger and bulkier
TROLL lift weights idk
@@CiaraITB You are so dumb I can't even , how can you do a post move when you are double teamed in the post every time, i wanna see you explaining it.
These are the best basketball videos I've seen on youtube. I love the in-depth analysis and editing to clearly illustrate your points. It's crazy to me that you don't have a larger following. Keep it up and I'm sure you'll keep growing!
There's also one thing: what's wrong with Giannis postseason free throws??? He was dreadful where he usually punishes teams bad
i think it was partly that raptors crowd. they did there job, and really seemed to get to giannis. especially with the air ball chants.
He just chocked, averaging 75% in 2019 and went 47% in last 4 games.
Combination of wear and tear, choking, and crowd getting to his head. It is bad, but I wouldn't panic until the new season starts and he's having trouble.
He didn’t do too good with his free throws in Milwaukee game 5 either. So I don’t think it was just the Toronto crowd that got to him.
He was great till the raptors tbh. The size and length was bothering him
I like how one of the main takeaways from the video is giannis doesn't need to significantly develop the 3! Keep up the great work!
You still have to give Kawhi credit, he was strong and fast enough to keep Giannis in front of him until the help or the wall was built. The first 2 games, he was cooking siakim. Wasn’t strong or quick to enough to keep Giannis infront of him
You can see him body Giannis. Gasol is there to help but in games 1 and 2. Gasol and Siakam were his primary defenders and they couldn't do anything. This guy never liked Kawhi tbh. He also has a video saying LeBron is a better defender than Kawhi.
@@MarkLaw13 Where did he say this? If your talking about that 2020 video comparing the two he explicitly states Kawhi is an All D level wing while Lebron is a rung below that. Ben has been extremely high on kawhi ever since his his first year in LA when his playmaking leveled up. He even said he could argue him as a better offensive player than kobe in an earlier video from that season(and his top 10 video at the end of that season stated he could see an argument for 2nd best player in the league) And even before that he always viewed him as one of the very best isolation scorers, shooters and defenders in the league(minus his Raptors stint where he knocked his defense because of his motor and activity, and he was still in his top 5 if i remember correctly)
i geniunely just got told an entire teams defence had to factor in to stopping giannis. man that dude is scary
Lex yeah but the media give all the credit to kawhai locking up giannis...😭😭
@@marialuzfullante3452 bruh he good and giannis wasnt as good on kawhi but mans wasnt alone when guarding him the whole series.
@@marialuzfullante3452 yeah well gues what nigga kawhi about to do it again this year kawhi owns that no jumpshot bum
I think the Bucks are going to look back on this year as a huge missed opportunity. They were literally a few buckets away from the NBA finals and getting to play an ailing Warriors team that I think they match up well against.
You sir is the best NBA analyst in YT right now. I was watching this game along with my friend and one of them was shouting so loud even screaming how Giannis is so bad at this game and what happened. I told him it's the enchanted ice wall (GOT pun for the uninitiated) and he just shrugs me off and continue screaming at the screen. 50 plus minutes later, I finally had enough and told him "Dude can't you see the 3 man wall? It's not Giannis fault!". And he screamed back: "stop using GOT puns this is serious!". A lot of people can't see the defensive adjustments and blame the the inefficiency solely on the player, even so called TV analyst are guilty of this. This is the first video I've seen that showcases that adjustment. You sir deserve to be in ESPN and not clueless and shock-reliant clowns like Max K, Stephen A, Skip, Shanon, and that Chris B (who loves flipping his statements multiple times not really knowing where he stands).
Everyone is jumping on the Giannis hate train and he is recieving criticism similar to what MJ recieved when he kept not winning in the playoffs until he was 26. It's funny watching this happen again. Giannis is great.
Stop even if they did stop Jordan he was clearly the best player on the court and was never taken off the court
@@mr.denzelsausageton9719 Jordan wasn't the best player in 1987, that was Peak Larry Bird.
Giannis will come back with a chip on his shoulder, which is a dangerous thing! He's only 24 years old.
@@mr.denzelsausageton9719 that's the point. stop the best player. there's always some hyper sensitive jordan fan who gets offended every time someone else's name is mentioned in the same sentence as him.
Meanwhile Giannis works his ass off day in and day out carrying his bum ass teammates that can’t make an open shot to save their lives
Best Hoops content on RUclips, by far! I wonder, does this series change how people view Giannis as an MVP candidate year in year out and his potential to be one of the three best players of his generation? Once you get to his level it criticisms like this, about his status in the league and comparisons to the other best players become sharper and sharper.
BLEDSOE WON US THE CHIP CONFIRMED THANK YOU BASED BLEDSOE
Simmons & Bledsoe ^_^
I knew when Ben asked that question about Kawhi's D on Twitter a video was coming. And boy what a great video. This channel deserves so many more viewers and subscribers.
Let’s give plenty of individual credit to Kawhi still - I think your video sold him a little short on his play making that he showed the last two games of the series, and the defensive intimidation he provided on Giannis made him afraid to push it when he passed half court
While Kawhi is a great defender, this video is highlighting that it wasn't just Kawhi's defense that slowed the Bucks and specifically Giannis down. The Raptors defensive scheme highlighted the Bucks weaknesses, team passing and their two best playmakers, Giannis and Bledsoe, being terrible perimeter shooters. When Gasol and FVV can provide good 1on1 defense on Giannis, as in he doesn't just blow past them to the rim, that's good team defense not just Kawhi.
Christopher Munn real good points but I think Milwaukee has always been a flawed halfcourt offense and what the raptors did there was not entirely unique. Transition is their bread and butter and kawhi’s presence singlehandedly made Giannis uncomfortable to assert his will on the defense in fast break and slow break possessions.
I agree not only that it seemed like he highlighted the fact that he's not the best playmaker but never really acknowledges the holes in anyone else's game
@@obnoxiouslakerfan you still might be giving too little credit to the rest of the team. Siakim did just as well if not better than Kawhi defensively against Giannis. And still not acknowledging FVV and Gasol's ability to keep Giannis from getting to the rim.
Christopher Munn okay you lost me there bro did you see the first two games? Siakam was absolutely sonned by Giannis when he was matched up with him - Siakam looked like a deer in headlights and Giannis looked supremely confident. That’s one point in this video that I think is objectively false and I think speaks to a clear bias against kawhi to commend pascals job on him while downplaying Kawhi’s. I’d only say siakam did a good job defending him when he only had to do so in help and for the rare possession where he switched onto him. Going into the series I thought he’d be a great matchup because of his length, but I was proven wrong when Giannis repeatedly charged and bullied him those first two games.
Dude you just eloquently put into words what I saw with my own eyes. It bothered me how all the talking heads gave all the credit for stopping Giannis and rolling the Bucks to Kawhi's on ball defense, when it was clearly a smart and connected team defense that did the lions share of the work. The way the Raptors forced the ball out of his hands and then rotated to and smothered the remaining Bucks as they tried to attack the closeouts was beautiful. Subbed.
Can you please do a video about the 2016 thunder series vs the spurs and vs the warriors and what went wrong
the finals are gonna be reaaaaly fun to watch, both teams rely on smart play to get looks and close defense
the wall of the North lol
the Bucks need more shooters and Greek Freak needs a develop a 3 point shot
I don't want to say this cause I want him to stay but Draymond Green would be a perfect fit for the buck cause of his passing and defensive game
He’ll be good off the bench because if you put Giannis Green and Bledsoe at the same time it’s finna be a disaster
Please do more of these throughout the upcoming series, love your content 👊🏽
No one gonna tall about the brilliant game planning by Nick Nurse? Okay
Gosh this was one of the most evenly matched series in recent history. It's interesting how heavily favored Milwuakee was by Vegas going into the series (they were something like -220), but talent wise it really was a tossup. I think people over focused on Toronto's non-Kawhi self creation struggles and slept on their defense. I think Ben refers to this as "offensive bias"
This proves Giannis need to improve mid and long range shots
Danny Kim Well, yeah. But that goes for the majority of players in the NBA. Try saying something worthwhile.
just discover your channel. Good analysis and well explained detail by detail. I love it. Keep it up bro
I appreciate you so much lol
Something in me loves Marc Gasol's defense more than Rudy Gobert for example. He moves around so well,uses his body and hands perfectly. Is not flashy but is pretty deadly.
I agree with this channel on just about every point except for downplaying the terror that kawhi inspires on defense when he’s matched up with any superstar. Lebron, KD Harden, Giannis, all of them feel an uncharacteristic terror when they have to stare down the Klaw when making their moves on the perimeter
Yeah, most of the footage of Giannis "winning" against him one on one were still misses loll. Those were some psychological effects, mssing wide open layups and dunks like that
@@devvv4616 hundred percent. IDK how Siakam got a shoutout when he had a very poor series overall - it wouldn't have been so close if he and Danny Green had done their thing, since it's not like the Bucks were the only team that had guys underperform
I really like the background music you use in your videos.
You know you are great when the whole team has to rally to stop you
Amazing contents man!! Keep up the amazing work! I hope you go big soon!!
I never seen a player get quadruple teamed every play, jordan got his ass whooped but not jumped
x Florio gtfoh💀💀💀 did u see wat happend to Portland
@@Themrajester2 Dead bodies were found after that massacre in Portland 💀💀💀
You are unbelievable when analyzing the game. Well done.
wrong... drake is the Giannis stopper
The Raptors' focus on team defense post season was a sight to behold. They were like a web and it challenged teams to play better basketball. We ended up seeing teams looking baffled on what to do where nothing came easy. The look on the other teams' faces was priceless.
Siakam is not one of the best at defending Giannis. He was getting cooked by him in the first two games then they devopled the Giannis rules to stop him.
Sure, but Siakam played great help defence in the last 2 games
jj Kawhi clamped him
Axel kawhi didn’t clamp shit, most overrated defender ever
@@rentedduckliing delete this Comment plz😂😂 nigga said Kawhi has the most overrated defense ever STFU
Luis Gonzalez he does, Giannis literally plays better overall defence. Look at his rating
All basketball fans should watch this video. Great analysis of how the red hot Bucks were beat by the Raptor's defensive strategy.
I'm disappointed you didn't mention how Nick Nurse would alternate between playing a 1-2-2 zone, a 3-2 zone and a man-to-man defense combined with automatic doubling of Giannis on the perimeter or post, depending on who was out on the floor. That combination of schemes was clearly too much for Mike Budenholzer to handle, especially on game 5.
Awesome content as always man! Great job. I hope you do an analysis on Zion next, but it can wait until draft day tho.
Who's here after watching Giannis drop a 50 piece cuz the Suns didn't do this?
They TRIED to do this, but with a damn good playmaker in Holiday and Middleton 3.0, they can't afford to build a complete wall, so Giannis can go ham. It also doesn't help Giannis suddenly developed a jumper and has improved consistently as a passer
Kawhi played Gianni's the same way the Spurs played LeBron when LeBron was young and liked to drive to the paint on most possessions.
You know Giannis is a problem when he has his own defensive scheme made just for him
too bad he got slapped
Yes he's great but he needs to learn how to shoot better
too bad he can’t shoot lol
Yeah that's what defense is. Adapting to your opponents playstyles.
@@AyoJeezy The main problem was all those open shoots that he created and did not go in. Poor teamates.
Was waiting for this video! 🔥🔥🔥
Kawhi can stop anyone. KD, Lebron, you name it!
KD was injured. The reason Raptors won cause KD wasn't there and not 100 percent fit. If he was, Warriors will be h 3 peat champion.
@@avimah5019 The Raptors won because Kawhi is healthy, not because KD was injured. That's a pathetic excuse.
Staying healthy till the end is all part of this sports, that's why Raptors management sat out Kawhi on back to back games on regular season, just to make sure kawhi would be healthy the entire Playoffs.
Jarl Borg It’s really not KD completely spaces the floor out so Curry and Klay cannot get doubled or tripled teamed and Draymond can play make better when KD was on the floor
@@jarlborg2102 if KD was healthy do you think raptors will still won? In my opinion, No.
@@jarlborg2102 the 2017 wcf was just 1 game. Spurs was dominant until Kawhi injured, no one really knows what outcome that will be if Kawhi was not injured. The regular season this year, yes the warriors lost to the raptors but playoffs is a whole different ball game. It like last year ECF when people expected Celtics to beat the Cavs. But LeBron is LeBron and he got the Cavs to the finals. Same way KD is KD and I think you underestimating the great player he is.
This channel highkey 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Bledsoe was horrid that series . Should have been playing limited minutes. Brogdon taking his minutes , maybe Bucks would be in finals who knows
Bledsoe wasn't the only problem, at least he played solid defense. Lopez didn't hit threes, Giannis was trash at the free throw line, Middleton completely dissapeared for a couple games... Fred VanVleet turned into Steph Curry 2.0 the last three games... the Bucks were up 2-0 honestly I think that series could have gone either way but mostly the Bucks choked.
Carlos Matos yea vanfleet was insane I think his stats were 17/20 3s in 3 games 🤯
@@carlosmatos9848 I agree Giannis wasn't shooting his free throws effectively, but you can't argue the pressure was against him. Having Middleton and Bledsoe step up by scoring relieves him of having to focus more offensively, but at the line he knows he has to make those freethrows but pressure can get you and i can't blame him his 24 yr old which is still young.
@@carlosmatos9848 I also dont think Bucks choked I think pressure got to them thats really it I mean who has been on that stage besides Hill? Once they were lost the first two at raps they knew it was going to be a very tough series.
yay you hit 100k probably ages ago but last i checked you were 94k keep going man
A healthy kawhi would lock down any NBA player.
Durant?
i click everytime you appear on my feed. the info you provide is crazy man.
Nice! Watching the last two games of the series I legit said this was like Jordan Rules 2.0
best bball channel by far. needs more recognition asap
Excellent breakdown Sir. Looking forward to your next video
I really really really hope Bledsoe develops a 3 pt shot in this off season. Giving him that contract just hearts my soul. We don’t have time to make financial mistakes like that
I’m hoping Giannis develops one too
This is what I love about the playoffs...Adjustments are made properly by studying a player's go to move and potential spots where he will be having a problem ....Kawhi guarding Giannis was a great move
You know you're so good when you have rules.
Really easily explains how to beat the Bucks. Will def use if I have to play them.
The way Toronto approached Giannis makes me excited to see how he might better himself to avoid tough situations like this in the future or how to better handle them I think it will ultimately lead to Giannis developing much better court vision
He's really evolved right now. I think this rules won't work on him now.
Super great content man I love it keep it up!
It's good to see Stan van Gundy's "Form a fucking wall!" theorem applied rather nicely.
i'd love to see you breakdown the raptors defense against curry and the warriors in the finals just like you did in this video, great analysis, i smashed that sub button
Masterful job by the Raptors to exploit the Buck’s weaknesses. This video also shows that improvements in passing vision will make Giannis close to unstoppable even if he never becomes an outside shooter. Gotta wonder though if the Bucks will ever regret that Bledsoe extension this year
Love your videos man, keep up the good work!
From 2021 here, it is as if the bucks' front office listened to your advice at the end
Great analysis and shows the actuall problem. Bledsoe chocked when Vanvleet exploded. If it wasn't for Vanvleet we wouldn't be talking about Kawhi now.
Marios Paparizos Bledsoe sucks when it matters I should’ve saw it as a sign when he was letting Reggie Jackson go off a lil bit
if guarding giannis is required both good speed and length and strength to stay in front of him and affect his shots around the rim, then ben simmons would be one of the greatest “anti-giannis” defenders.
He has one of the best perimeter defenses for a big man, but he can also stay in the paint and block a lot of shots, this was demonstrated a lot in the second round last year against the hawks