The Milwaukee Bucks’ blockbuster trade for Damian Lillard might give them the most lethal pairing in the NBA.
The seven-time All-Star orchestrating the pick-and-roll with Giannis Antetokounmpo charging downhill after setting the screen will be a nightmare for defenses to deal with.
The same applies when they invert it, and Lillard screens for the two-time MVP before flaring out for a potential three. That route may put a guard in charge of keeping Antetokounmpo from getting to the basket, an unlikely outcome. A more common counter will be for his primary assignment to go under the screen, but it will test that individual’s ability to keep up with the Greek Freak’s long strides en route to the rim.
Having Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez spreading out help defenders, further placing the opposition in a bind, only compounds the difficulty of attempting to combat Lillard and Antetokounmpo pick-and-rolls throughout a game. It may even prove the most reliable source of crunch-time scoring in the NBA this season.
Pondering how the Boston Celtics might work to slow this down, understandably, some are concerned about subtracting as impactful a rim protector as Robert Williams. However, adding Jrue Holiday may even prove more beneficial.
The three-time All-Defensive First Team selection possesses an impressive blend of size for a guard (six-foot-three), strength, and agility. He also has a six-foot-seven wingspan, a crucial component of what allows him to be an elite defender against players much taller than him.
While Antetokounmpo’s long strides are an issue for any defender, the physical nature of Holiday’s game, coupled with the former being someone opponents will tip their caps to if he beats them with his shooting, allows the newest member of Boston’s backcourt to live in his former teammate’s jersey, taking away his airspace, aiming to make it difficult for the seven-time All-NBA selection to build momentum.
And while the Celtics’ roster, as currently constructed, is gambling on Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford staying healthy, if they’re available for a playoff series against Milwaukee, at least one of them will be on the floor at all times.
Horford, Boston’s most proven primary defender against Antetokounmpo, is more effective in a role of that nature than as a shot blocker. But he can protect the rim by meeting the 2021 Finals MVP before he gets too close to the cylinder for the former Florida Gator to do anything but hope for a positive outcome.
While with Holiday and Horford, it will be more about pressuring Antetokounmpo and giving him nowhere to go, when Porzingis is out there, the former can funnel the Bucks’ star to a seven-foot-three center who moves his hips well enough to contest Antetokounmpo’s shots at and around the basket even when the latter contorts himself to go around the wall Boston now has to play the pivot.
Porzingis’ presence will also get the seven-time All-Star to stop short of the rim at times, relying on floaters and other methods, a win for the Celtics.
While Holiday’s strength and thicker build than Derrick White’s make him a better option to try to slow down Antetokounmpo, the former Colorado Buffalo, who’s six-foot-four, figures to get some cracks at it as well if Boston and Milwaukee meet in the postseason.
The Celtics’ defensive versatility allows them to tap into a switch-heavy scheme. There’s also talk of them utilizing more zone defense in the upcoming campaign. And while it’s not their preference, given the toll this responsibility takes and the penchant for picking up fouls it comes with, they can ask Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum to take on the role of Antetokounmpo’s primary defender.
But for all the options Joe Mazzulla has at his disposal, the one Boston just added seems like the choice that’s best for his new team.
Another defection from the Bucks, Charles Lee, now Mazzulla’s lead assistant, will also help with scheming to take advantage of some of the future Hall of Famer’s tendencies, just as Ime Udoka’s familiarity with the Brooklyn Nets and former C’s assistant coach Ben Sullivan’s with Milwaukee, helped the Celtics reach the Finals in 2022.
This time around, especially after the landscape-altering move made by the Bucks to acquire Lillard, the reason Holiday’s in Boston, he and Lee will play crucial roles in the Celtics’ pursuit of Banner 18, which will likely again require them to go through Milwaukee.
Leave a Reply