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00:00We have now a clean look at the Eastern Conference postseason.
00:03Some of the results yesterday solidified that.
00:06The biggest one being Milwaukee's win at Detroit.
00:09A game in which the Detroit Pistons were favored, mind you.
00:12Now, Detroit climbing up to the five and passing Milwaukee
00:18was going to take some work.
00:21They needed a win last night, and then they actually play again tomorrow.
00:25It would have been pretty fun.
00:27Would either of the team have been better off climbing?
00:29You can have that debate, but clearly both teams were going for it.
00:34Giannis played 38 minutes.
00:36They were going for it.
00:38Jalen Dern, Cade Cunningham, these guys played well over 35 minutes in this game.
00:43The Milwaukee Bucks get the job done behind 32, 11, and 15
00:47from what is at this exact moment a six-game sample size,
00:51what feels like the best player in the world.
00:54Respect to Jokic and SGA and whomever you want,
00:57Giannis Antetokounmpo is going berserk.
01:00He's averaging 32, 12, and 12 on 60% shooting in the month of April.
01:06If that didn't knock you off your seats, maybe you are just Giannis,
01:10so you're aware of it, because that is an outrageous stat line
01:13that we are seeing from Antetokounmpo.
01:15The tough thing, probably, Tom, for Milwaukee is that's what they actually need
01:19from Giannis to just get out of round number one.
01:22That is a bare minimum.
01:23And when you see his name alongside Wilt as the first player to do X, Y, and Z
01:29in a two-three-game stretch, that's fantastic.
01:32When you're up there with that name, it's a ton.
01:34But to your point, he needs to average a triple-double for them to have a chance,
01:39because if he has an off night or he has an off series, which I don't think is going
01:43to happen, there's no one else we can trust on the Bucs, right?
01:48And at that point, we're going to see them—they'll be out in the first round in six games.
01:53So, obviously, and the question becomes, what if Lillard was fully held?
01:58Does that change a whole lot for the Bucs?
02:01They could win a round.
02:03Do we trust them to win multiple rounds is the question,
02:05because if it's not Giannis, the Bucs don't have a whole lot of pieces.
02:09Let's be honest.
02:11The second-best guy you're going to trust on the Bucs right now may be Bobby Portis.
02:17I mean, I'm not respectfully—like, Kuzma hasn't been in this spot, right?
02:22Torian Prince, no.
02:24Brook Lopez, get me—oh, he actually had seven rebounds last night.
02:27Oh!
02:28They've played points and rebounds, Brook Lopez.
02:30But I think the point is, is what I see out of Giannis is not just the stats, right,
02:36the dominating ball.
02:37It's the fact that he's averaging, in the last 10 games, a 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
02:43So, a guy at the forward position who is getting everything thrown at him is still scoring
02:50and making the right decisions and not turning the ball over.
02:54And you guys are right.
02:55If he is not getting you a triple-double or damn near close to it, and I'm talking also
03:01about getting to the foul line, which now puts defensive pressure on the other team, which
03:06is going to be, you know, against a Pascal Siakam or—and I'll be topping.
03:12That's going to be a rough matchup.
03:12Like, you have a situation where this guy dominates ball.
03:16I wonder if something you're going to see—and I think you'll see it a little bit in the playoffs,
03:20depending on if Brook Lopez is an effective—I would actually, against Indiana, I'd play him as a 5.
03:29And I would say, Miles Turner, come get me, bring him outside,
03:33then take away your best interior defender and try to attack him that way.
03:37I would go—if I'm Doc, I would go small in a series at times with Giannis at the 5.
03:42So, the fascinating thing for Milwaukee is when you look to Damian Lillard, what is he supposed to bring them?
03:52An offensive lift, right?
03:54Closer.
03:55Can't guard.
03:56Can't guard.
03:56No defense.
03:57So, Giannis' last six games, when he is on the court, his offensive rating is 145.
04:06To try and add any level of context to that, the best offensive rating in basketball this season is Cleveland's at a 122.
04:18Right.
04:19Giannis' at a 145 when he is on the court in the last six games.
04:22Now, they've not been playing world beaters, but it gives you an idea.
04:27So, am I willing to say they're better off without Dame?
04:31I don't know.
04:32I'm not sure Dame matters that much.
04:34The entire concept of this team is Giannis to everything, whether Dame is there or not.
04:41So, yeah, Dame is more likely to hit the shots maybe that Giannis could create for him.
04:46The question around Milwaukee is now, in losing Damian Lillard, if Giannis can hold up, are they more likely to get stops now?
04:56Now that they don't have Damian Lillard out there to target, which Damian Lillard is a target.
05:03That's always been the case.
05:05Is this team more dangerous defensively?
05:07I think they could be because I think they can guard better.
05:12They're more athletic.
05:13And there's another piece of the puzzle that we're not really talking about.
05:17That's Kevin Porter Jr., whose numbers and minutes have gone up significantly since, obviously, Dame got hurt and is productionist.
05:26Now, this is a guy at a guard spot that is quick athletic, that's athletic, that can get in passing lanes, that can get in transition, and is a pretty good offensive player.
05:35If you kind of look, and I was like, well, I just kind of looked because I was like, wait a minute, this guy's gone 28, 9, 9, 24, 20, 21, 20, 16 in the last eight or nine games since Dame's been out.
05:48Dame, as much as he is a great offensive guy and a closer, for 30 minutes of the game, he is a huge defensive liability.
05:58Just go watch Knicks versus Bucs and watch how Jalen Brunson just absolutely destroys him every time he sees him.
06:03It's wild to say that one of the, what, 75 greatest players of all time were saying they're better off without him?
06:12They are, they were dangerous in my opinion right now.