It Would Appear That Giannis Has Now Somehow Turned Into A Long Lost Splash Brother
The other day we saw Giannis do Giannis things and drop 31 points in 20 minutes in a tune up game against Spain. It was your usual Giannis dominance that we've grown accustomed to these last few years. That video? The one of the top of this blog? That's way more terrifying than what we saw in those Spain highlights. We know Giannis can go a whole game missing only 2 FGA and will dunk on whoever is in his path. This? Being automatic from the corner? That brings a whole new element to Giannis' game that I'm not sure the league is ready for.
Now I know what the hardos will say. They'll talk about how every NBA player can do this, there's no defense blah blah blah. When will they understand nobody gives a shit? It's August, we need clips like this and there's no denying that given what Giannis' shooting history is that this video impressed you. Let's start by taking a look at how Giannis has done in terms of his three point shooting over the last few years since his volume has started to increase
2018-19: 25% on 2.8 3PA
2019-20: 30% on 4.7 3PA
2020-21: 30% on 3.6 3PA
2021-22: 29% on 3.6 3PA
Essentially, it's been pretty dogshit. Crazy that Giannis can be so dominant all without a three point shot, but to his credit there are times where he's in the zone and can actually make an open three. Sometimes he does settle, but it's clearly an area of his game that could take a leap. That alone is terrifying.
That's why I think one easy tweak the Bucks can make is shifting Giannis' threes more to the corners. Knocking down open corner threes is a very, very important skill in today's NBA. Look at his shot chart from last season, he took just 6 corner 3PA all year!
The majority of his 3PA come from above the break or the top of the arc. Usually that's because we see a ton of Giannis' 3PA come off the pull up. I don't think it would be the worst idea to have some situations where Giannis can get more corner looks if he's going to be that smooth with them. He's not really a camp out in the corner and unleash an open catch & shoot three player, but I don't see why Coach Bud can't find him some corner looks.
If we're being honest, anything Giannis does from deep is just an added bonus at this point. It's not like he needs the three point shot, he just needs to be willing to take them if they're there. It's already a bad idea to sag off Giannis anyways given that it gives him a runway to just run through you, but being at least capable from that zone will make him even tougher to deal with. For my money though, it's more about the midrange with Giannis. The good news? He shot 41.5% from that zone on 3.1 attempts a game. That's...not terrible! He'll never be CP3 from the midrange, but that 41.5% was 35.7% in 2020-21 so that appears to be trending in the right direction as well.
There's a reason Giannis is largely considered the best player on the planet right now, and I think that shooting video helps show why. This is a shot that Giannis took 6 TIMES last season and isn't really part of how the Bucks use him, and he's still putting in work on it. I'm not sure how you couldn't love that, even if you're not a Bucks fan. Giannis is about as proven as it gets at the NBA level and he's still putting in the work to get better. Hard to not root for a guy like that.