Although still a work in progress, the Antetokounmpo-Lillard pick-and-roll has incredible potential.
During the first three and a half minutes of the Bucks’ 146-122 victory over the Knicks on Tuesday, general manager Jon Horst’s hazy vision of the collaboration he had in mind when he shocked the basketball world by trading for Damian Lillard came into focus.
Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s pick-and-roll duo was unstoppable.
With just over three and a half minutes left in the first quarter, Antetokounmpo began by moving up the floor and setting up a screen for his new pick-and-roll partner. After dribbling to his right and running Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley into the screen, Lillard, his heels on the NBA Cup painted onto the Bucks’ In-Season Tournament court, forced center Mitchell Robinson to leave Antetokounmpo and double the Bucks’ veteran point guard, who promptly threaded a bounce pass to Antetokounmpo at the free-throw line. In one motion, Antetokounmpo leapt to intercept the pass, then whipped the ball to MarJon Beauchamp in the left corner. The Bucks took a three-point lead after Beauchamp’s wide-open corner three-pointer went in.
After a minute, Antetokounmpo moved the ball to the middle of the court and dribbled in the direction of Lillard, who was on the right wing, in order to pass the ball. Lillard was sent to his left by a pick-and-roll that resulted from that play. The seven-time All-Star point guard leaped into the air on the left wing as the Knicks deployed a double team on Lillard, and he then passed to Antetokounmpo, who was dribbling down the middle of the court. After making another leap stop to catch the ball, Antetokounmpo scanned the floor before firing a pass to second-year guard AJ Green in the left corner, who finished calmly to win the corner 3.
The Bucks again went to the Lillard-Antetokounmpo pick-and-roll on the very next possession. Lillard was doubled by the Knicks. Before Isaiah Hartenstein leaped into Antetokounmpo’s path, he rolled down the middle of the lane. With two defenders now having to cover three Bucks players, Lillard made a simple pass to the wing, setting up Green for another three-pointer.
After two inbounds passes, Lillard dribbled the ball up the court while Bobby Portis and Antetokounmpo set up a double screen that would move Lillard from the right to the left wing. Quickley was stopped by Antetokounmpo’s strong screen as Lillard got up for a pull-up three and eventually made it all the way to Portis.
Knicks guard Donte DThrough 21 games, that order—five possessions, five pick-and-rolls, and 15 points—hasn’t been the pairing’s norm. One of the first clear looks at the partnership’s future potential was provided on Tuesday at the end of the first quarter.iVincenzo applied more pressure to Lillard as they advanced up the floor during the last possession of the first quarter. Antetokounmpo ran to set a screen as Lillard dribbled into the left corner of the floor, close to the halfcourt line. Julius Randle, a forward for the Knicks, attempted to trap Damian Lillard, and Antetokounmpo slipped the screen to the center. Despite Randle’s best efforts, it was already too late. Euro stepped Hartenstein and drew a foul on his attempt at the rim as Antetokounmpo tore down the lane.
That sequence — five possessions, five pick-and-rolls, 15 points — hasn’t been typical for the pairing through 21 games. The end of the first quarter on Tuesday was one of the first true glimpses of the partnership’s full potential moving forward.
After defeating the Knicks, the Bucks are closing in on their offensive potential and have secured a trip to Vegas.
“Giannis and I are still attempting to determine how we can collaborate more and exploit some of these defenses,” Lillard stated on Wednesday. It will simply take time because this is our twenty-first game. It’s difficult to predict when something will finally click. It just, simply occurs. And I believe that everyone will be able to look at it and say, “They’re starting to put it together how we expected,” when that day arrives.
The Bucks have won a lot of games through their first 21 games.
With a record of 15-6, they rank second in the Eastern Conference. This Thursday, they will play the Indiana Pacers in the NBA’s first-ever In-Season Tournament semifinals in Las Vegas. This season, the superstar duo of the Bucks has also enjoyed great individual success. On Wednesday, Antetokounmpo, who turned 29 on his birthday in Las Vegas, averaged 30.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, while Lillard scored 25.6 points, grabbed 4.5 rebounds, and dished out 6.9 assists.
Though both players rank fifth and fifteenth in the current top 15 in terms of per-game scoring average, respectively, the synergy that was anticipated by many when Horst first struck the deal has not materialized between the two players as of yet. Head coach Adrian Griffin believed that the combination could be a contemporary Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal during training camp. Up until now, that hasn’t been the case.
The Athletic spoke with each of the three main players to find out why the Bucks haven’t been able to replicate that same magic. The main question that needed to be addressed was why the pick-and-roll combination of Lillard and Antetokounmpo hasn’t been able to consistently blow away opposing defenses.
Like everyone else, Antetokounmpo had fantasies about what it would be like to play pick-and-roll with Lillard. As Lillard’s accurate 3-point shooting forced defenses to move to halfcourt, Antetokounmpo visualized himself rolling for massive dunks with nobody covering him at the rim.
However, things haven’t worked out that way so far. Giannis Antetokounmpo told The Athletic, “I couldn’t understand it the first couple of games,” as he made his way to the team bus after the Bucks defeated the Washington Wizards 142-129 on November 20. “What the f— is going on here?”
Opposing coaches discuss how important it is to pick up Lillard at half court every night due to the point guard’s effortless 3-point shooting from distances of thirty feet and beyond. Lillard tormented defenses with his combination of incredible long-range shooting, elite quickness to attack the rim, and superb court vision while playing for a less talented team in Portland.
But in Milwaukee, those same skills haven’t been on display as much when playing pick-and-rolls with Antetokounmpo—that is, until the last ten days.
The Antetokounmpo-Lillard pick-and-roll combination through the Bucks’ first 17 games produced just 0.98 points per possession, or about league average, according to a league source with access to Second Spectrum data. The pair has scored 1.53 points per possession via the pick and roll in the last four games—three victories and a loss in overtime in Chicago—which would lead the league by more than a tenth of a point per opportunity.
“This is the most ridiculous aspect,” Antetokounmpo remarked. “Because, you know going into the season, ‘Oh s—, the pick-and-roll, I’m going to get so many easy looks.’ But, at this point in the season, our pick-and-roll connection is helping other people more than us because Dame is double-teamed and they’re zoning up when I get the ball. It’s like swing, swing, and other people will benefit.”
During the season’s opening games, opponents mostly chose to zone up against Antetokounmpo when he was rolling after taking Lillard out with a blitz, trap, or double team to start the possession. Antetokounmpo was confused by that look early in the season, which caused the two-time NBA MVP to commit mistakes, such as on this first-night possession against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“There is too much people here. I think I traveled two or three times at the beginning of the season, Antetokounmpo said, beginning to demonstrate his awareness of defenders’ positions when he catches the ball during a pick-and-roll with Lillard. “I understand, and as I turn, the man is already here. Alternatively, I turn and am ready to go hit a crowd when I get it. It’s packed.
Playing with a pick-and-roll partner like Lillard is a novel experience for Antetokounmpo. This would be the case for any new lead guard, but Antetokounmpo is particularly affected because, in the previous five seasons, he has developed the strongest pick-and-roll relationship with Khris Middleton.
Although Middleton has shown that he is a skilled 6-7 wing rather than a quick-witted, accurate point guard, the two-man game between Middleton and Antetokounmpo became the Bucks’ go-to move in crunch time as they won the 2021 NBA championship.
And as a result, Antetokounmpo’s experience has changed significantly.
Antetokounmpo said, “I’m in the pocket, open, because they’re double-teaming him.” “I’m used to adjusting the monitor. You can see that Khris takes two dribbles after I set the screen. After dribbling, he shoots the ball or attempts a floater. Alternatively, he goes and makes a late pass.
