The secret to the Milwaukee Bucks winning eight of their last nine games isn’t hard to find. The Bucks are nowhere near the league's best shooting teams. They rank in the bottom third in triples made, attempted and 3-point field goal percentage.
They also don't penetrate from the wing, scoring fewer points off of drives than any team in the league except Golden State, and Denver. However, they do score more points from midrange than any team except Sacramento (more on that later).
Since the trade deadline reshaped the roster, Milwaukee’s defensive intensity has been renewed. For a franchise that has prided itself as a white-glove defense firm, the last season and a half has been a tough pill to swallow. In their last full season with Jrue Holiday helming their defense, they were handing it to opposing offenses, allowing 110.9 points per 100 possessions, good for fourth-best in the NBA. A year ago, they finished 20th in defensive rating as their perimeter fence consistently broke down while Lillard’s played turnstile defense, putting greater pressure on Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks defense has been the NBA’s best since Feb. 12, when their winning streak began. Up to that point, the Bucks weren’t even one of the 10 stingiest defenses per possession. During their winning streak, they’ve allowed the lowest effective field goal percentage in the league, have sent opponents to the free throw line at one of the lowest rates in the league and have allowed the lowest rate of offensive rebounds in the league. Amazingly, they've done all this while booting their best perimeter defender, Andre Jackson Jr. from the rotation.
The obvious caveat to the Bucks good vibes is that they have yet to defeat one of the top four seeds in their conference. Their next chance to climb the ladder will arrive Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Can Giannis Antetokounmpo score 30,000 points?
Giannis Antetokounmpo scoring his 20,000th point gets lost in the shadow of LeBron James’ 50,000 points, but it shouldn’t. While Antetokounmpo won’t earn an MVP nod because of Milwaukee’s win total, he is clearly in the discussion with Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for value in 2025. Antetokounmpo began the season 74th all-time in points and became the 52nd player to score 20,000 just after the break. The only thing keeping him out of the race is Milwaukee’s pesky fourth-place record in the East.
Twelve years ago, the Bucks would have considered themselves lucky to have home-court advantage in the first round. Today, it’s disappointing for them not to be considered a serious contender. The bar has been raised. That’s how high Antetokounmpo has lifted their standards. When Antetokounmpo was drafted, the Bucks were lost in the wilderness. They were a middling team that had just paired Brandon Jennings with Monta Ellis. He has been arguably the greatest non-lottery first-round pick in league history.
After Wednesday night’s blowout win, Antetokounmpo mused about his next achievement, reaching 30,000 points.
“I’m going to get there, for sure,” Antetokounmpo blurted out when the possibility was raised. “One thousand percent. I’m gonna get there. I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I’m gonna show up every single day, and I’m going to do it.”
We’ve seen so many different versions of Giannis Antetokounmpo. His shot profile has changed immensely. He no longer belches up a steady diet of three-pointers. He’s evolved however, into a middie lord who scraps for buckets at the rim like he’s still fighting for his rookie extension.
The most impressive evolution of the new-look Giannis has been his midrange game. Players with Antetokounmpo’s physicality need to evolve over time. Antetokounmpo may be one of the most chiseled bodies in the league, but time is undefeated. While a high volume of midrange twos may sound like an anachronism, Antetokounmpo has made it work.
This season, Antetokounmpo is taking the seventh-most midrange shots per game. while shooting 47.4 percent on such shots, good for fifth in the league. His volume has increased exponentially as well. In 49 games Antetokounmpo has already increased his 73-game volume of midrange jumpers made last season by 40 percent. To put into perspective, Antetokounmpo is one of six players to cross the century mark in midrange field goals after making just 61 last season.
If Antetokounmpo is ever going to reach the 30,000-point barrier, this will be his new counter to teams who load the paint to stop his rim assaults. At his current rate, he'd get there in about five seasons. Accounting for some regression, he'll eclipse 30,000 during his age-36 season. Scoring 30,000 career points is a big deal. Only eight players are currently in that club while Steph Curry may not get there. James Harden is the only other active player within striking distance. Ironically, Harden had a compulsive need to call out the Bucks two-time MVP for relying on his size and lacking in skill. Now Antetokounmpo is doing something else that Harden would never approve of — jacking up midrange shots at a prolific rate.
By the time Antetkoumpo creeps up on 30K, he won’t be a Tasmanian devil inside. He'll have to rely on his "non-existent skills." He’ll be slower, more grounded, and less agile, but he’ll still have his guile and that sweet middie.