How Will the Bucks Fare Without Giannis and Who Will They Lean On in the Clutch?

How Will the Bucks Fare Without Giannis and Who Will They Lean On in the Clutch?

There is one reason above all else why Jiannis Adetakoupo is the most important player in the league. We will tell you why and take a look at some new pieces of news surrounding some players on the team and potentially one may be back on the team on today’s Locked on Bucks. You are Locked On Bucks, your daily Milwaukee Bucks podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Welcome in to Locked on Bucks. I am Justin Garcia, joined as always by Camille Davis. We thank you for making this your first listen of the day each and every day. You can of course hear me throughout the season on the Bucks Radio Network. You can hear Camille weekly on the Locked on NBA show and the Technical File podcast as well. Today’s episode of the show is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code locked on NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. Well, you certainly don’t have to sell anyone around these parts or viewing this show on Giannis being the MVP and most important player in the league. And I think we’ve talked quite a bit already this offseason, Camille, about, you know, one of the other things to come from this group and this roster is the fact that, hey, this is another good opportunity for Giannis to be reinserted into the MVP discussion. looking at the way those last eight games, seven of which he played and went and copying that to some things we’ve seen from Nicole Joic and everything running through Giannis. But there’s one other thing that I suppose is is the good and the bad. And that is we’ve talked about who’s the second option on this team, but who’s the first option when Giannis isn’t playing? And I think last year the one thing we I suppose haven’t given enough attention to is we’re both on board with making this move to let’s be a deeper team. Let’s be able to play different ways and not so topheavy. The one issue there is in the past you had a Damen Lillard or a Chris Middleton or somebody else that if you needed for a twoe stretch for seven games we can just funnel everything through this guy. Maybe they have that now and maybe that develops from a guy like Kevin Porter Jr., uh, Gary Trent Jr., Bobby Poris can carry that load for some of it. Maybe it’s even Miles Turner. But on the surface, we’re we’re still searching for that. And I think that’s the one thing we talked about Turner not playing as many games as Brook Lopez. That’s the other thing to keep an eye on is what happens in those games where Giannis does not play because I think it’s safe to pencil in. He’s not going to play in 15 or so games a year. So, what do you do in those 15 games? you put up even more three-pointers than you normally do um when you’re star guys and out there like you know it it’s going to happen like you said throughout the course of the season where you have the games without Giannis and if you’re building this team to operate as a team focused around point Giannis what does it look like when he is not in the lineup and I think the answer to that is like long-term not great because that’s not how the team is constructed like you need him out there but for the regular season, you can hope that you have a few games without him there and you get hot from three. You see the ball movement and I don’t think it’s one person necessarily steps up and like I’m the Giannis in this game. I think it has to just be more of a collective effort which to the point of Kevin Porter Jr. being someone who’s going to play a valuable role in those games without Giannis I think his role gets even greater because he will be I would assume the primary playmaker on the team if there is no Giannis there. you’re going to put the ball, I think, in the hands of Gary Trent Jr. a little bit more. Ryan Roll rounds gets the ball a little bit more. And Bobby Portoris is somebody who when Giannis is not in the lineup, the scoring goes up, the rebound, like he’s going to do his part with the more minutes. So, I think ultimately it’s has to be a collection in those games without Giannis. Uh, where you have great three-point shooting, you get hot, you play some defense, and you try to get your wins that way, buying him some rest in the games he doesn’t play. But ultimately, you know, if you get to the playoffs and you’re trying to figure out what do we do with no Giannis, it’s it’s not a good proposition going forward. So last year, Giannis missed 15 games and that’s basically been I would say the average is like 12 to 15 the past few years. Uh the Bucks went eight and seven in those 15 games that Giannis missed. But again, the the big caveat there is for a lot of those games, you had Damen Lillard in the mix and in some of those games, you had Chris Middleton in the mix. Now, we can probably take away one of those wins because that was game number 82, which was the Pat Coneton game in the Kyle Koosma quarter. Yeah. Uh but even then, seven and seven. I think the record if we remove that too in games without Giannis and without Damen Lillard was one and two. uh the other numbers, if you want to look at the metrics in those, it obviously wasn’t a ton of lineup data that you can pull. But as you know, the surprise to no one, it wasn’t great. You had an offensive rating that was in the 17th percentile, an offensive number that you’d like your defense to be at at a 108.7. Your defense was fine, a 111.5. Um but the issue was struggling to score the basketball. And you know, a lot of those lineups are transferring over guys that are still on the team. You obviously remove the Brook Lopez ones and you know, maybe your offense is better with Miles Turner. I don’t think it’s like 12 points per 100 possessions better, but uh if you can just get to average in those spots, to your point, lean on three-point shooting um but lean into your defense. And and that was the other big thing was they didn’t generate a lot of threes in those games without Giannis. I remember a few of outliers, I suppose, where they had some pretty high volume threes in games where Giannis was not playing. Those were games with Damen Lillard. In those without Giannis and Dame, it wasn’t a whole lot of threes. Like in in terms of percentage, they took about a third of their shots from three. And you really want that number to be closer to 40%. So that’s the big thing is you got to generate more looks from the outside in those 10 12 15 whatever it is games that Giannis isn’t playing in. And then the question is how do you generate them? Because when you have Giannis on the court, he draws so much attention from opposing defenses that generally they’re going to send help his way and as soon as he reads it, he makes the right pass. Guys are getting really open looks playing out there next to Giannis. you remove Giannis, then it becomes now how do you generate these looks? Which is why Kevin Porter Jr. is someone who I point to because he has the speed, the ball handling ability to at least touch paint and bend defenses. is like if you can bend defenses and make them start to react to what you’re doing. If you can have the vision to see where the help’s coming from, find your open teammate, move the ball, like you’re going to be able to continuously get good looks, unless the defense is like a super defense that the rotations are just strong and no matter how many times you’re moving that ball, they continue to keep up with it. Uh, but Kevin Porter Jr., I think does have that talent to be able to touch paint, which is part of what Doc Rivers has been talking about with like needing to continue to see the point guard growth in Kevin Porter Jr., which is when you do drive and you do have the defensive attention. Can you make the right decision here, kick out to where it needs to go or if you advantage to score, go up and just do that. Like just make the right decision in the moment. And I think without Giannis on the court, that’s part of why generating those looks gets so much difficult, more difficult, because you don’t have one singular guy commanding so much attention. So now it’s like one, who else can kind of bend defenses, but two, can you scheme up some ways? Can you get the offball movement going? So now you can create good looks for your team as well in the process. Like maybe the play looks a bit different when it’s not a Giannis centric le offense there. Like what can you do? Who else can kind of pull these triggers for the team? And again, I think we had the conversation yesterday or my the days of running together now over the summer of you pointing to Kevin Porter Jr. as being the guy that you thought could really be like that second option for this team offensively and like he has a lot of the traits that you mentioned that I’m mentioning now as to like if Giannis is out, he’s going to be important, I think, to continue to try to generate more looks for the team. Yeah, he’s he’s gonna have to be I mean I know you’ve already reserved this for your guy Kyle Kosmo, but he’s going to basically have to become my guy. He’s going to basically have to be Giannis Light in those situations in like initiating an uptempo style and getting into the paint either finishing or or finding looks for other guys uh out there. And and again, not a huge sample size that we’re working with here, but I removed everyone that is no longer on the roster for the Bucks and took Giannis and Dame out of the mix, too. So, I mean, Dane goes without saying is no longer on the roster, took Giannis off the floor. When we look at those numbers with just the group that you have going forward, and the big caveat is, well, there’s no Cole Anthony factored in. There’s no Miles Turner. There’s there’s no Gary Harris either, but 105.4 offensive rating, uh 114.6 defensive rating, which is frankly not good enough on either front. And again, very, very low volume of uh three-point attempts. 36% of their field goal attempts were threes in those spots. So, that’s the big thing to keep an eye on because look, Giannis is not going to play in 82 games. And if it’s one or two games that we’re talking about here where it’s occasionally Giannis is out this game for rest purposes, you feel like your depth is good enough. But the big thing of this is okay, what if something I don’t even want to put anything out there, Camille, but what if something happens where Giannis is down for two weeks? What does the offense look like then? And what does that mean for the results that we’re seeing on the floor for the Bucks? and and that’s the thing that I suppose we won’t have the answer until we see this new group together and how it fits into play specifically Miles Turner. Um that kind of lends into a different conversation Giannis on the floor or off the floor about end ofame situations. So we’ll get into that conversation coming up after this on Locked on Bucks. Time to talk to you now about our friends over at Monarch Money. You’ve heard us sing their praises before quite a few times on this show. If you wish managing your money could feel easier, Monarch Money is here to tell you it can. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch Money puts you in the driver’s seat. It’s like having your own personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money is more than just a budgeting app. It is a complete financial command center where you can track all of your accounts, investments, and spending in one place. So, in addition to managing your money, you’re also building your wealth. Maybe you’re building that wealth with a partner. And that’s where Monarch Money makes it easier than ever to manage shared accounts and stay on track for those long-term or even short-term goals. If you got a big purchase in mind that you’re saving for, you can easily track and take the steps necessary to complete that purchase. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code locked onnba at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com code locked on NBA for half off your first year. So, I’m just going to paint a scenario for you here, Camille. Okay. It’s late in a game. There’s, let’s say, 12 seconds left. It’s a two-point deficit that the Bucks are facing. Who do you go to in that spot? I think the obvious answer is Giannis, right? Uhhuh. But everything we’ve talked about with who’s the number two? I think we can safely assume teams are going to say in those spots, all right, let’s just make let’s load up and build the wall and make sure Giannis can’t beat us. Who’s the next guy you are comfortable with now in those spots in a roster that no longer has guys you’ve leaned on like Dame or Chris Middleton? Now the nonfun podcast answer. Oh, I think I agree with you. This is where you’re going. It’s it’s you just make the right play. You you just you figure game by game. It depends who’s got the hot hand. Yeah, it depends. Like you just kind of figure it out. But I will say this to that point. I think the answer is still Giannis. Um, and in large part because of how his mid-range game has been developing because that is a great counter to the wall. You can get there if you can get comfortable into the mid-range and find your spot. Like that’s an important shot to have. And uh the Mind the Game podcast episode with Kevin Durant. Absolutely loved hearing Kevin Durant and LeBron and and Steve Nash just talk about the game and the mid-range. And Kevin Durant as we know is a mid-range like specialist. still shot like 53% from mid-range this past season on a very high volume, which is nuts to think about. But he mentioned like a game he had where they were down and a teammate told him like, “Kev, we need you to shoot more threes.” And he said, “No, y’all shoot more threes. I need to do what it is that I do.” And his point with saying that was like, listen, the mid-range has a place in the game, but he thinks ultimately like your star should be the one that are taking those shots because as the defense reacts, you can make the right move. If this is a threat that you have in your game, you can manipulate the defense and still get the best shot possible in that possession. So for Giannis, I think ultimately you want the ball in his hands and whether he chooses to shoot or pass it, like I’m cool with it either way that it goes, especially with the mid-range. Even though like we know last year was like a career year from mid-range for Giannis shot, what is it? 42 44% from mid-range last season. Career best. Better than players like Paul George, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Luca, LeBron, Jason Tatum. like he shot that shot at a higher clip than a lot of guys. Now, there’s still room to improve there. Like he’s not he didn’t finish like top 10 in field goal percentage for mid-range or anything like that, but for him and getting that shot and the comfortability with it. Um I think it opens up a whole lot. So, like I think it was that Hornets game this past year where he took that mid-range shot for the win, but he he missed it and everybody was a that’s a terri like I’m perfectly fine with Giannis taking those shots when it comes down game from what a year ago, two years ago, same setup, same shoot it, shoot it. Like that’s thing like for me five seconds left ball put it in Giannis hands. If the shot is there, I don’t care if it’s a mid-range. I don’t care if it’s a layup. Like go ahead and take it or find your teammate that’s hot. Was that Sun game this past year? I mean, all the years have blended together now because two years ago was the Chris injury. So, yeah, I think it was this past year, wasn’t it? Or who Regardless, it’s happened a couple of times. And I agree with you that look, it’s still going to be honest. The only time where that’s really not going to be a conversation is if it’s a three-point deficit. Yeah. Um, but I think too, like, let’s assume teams are going to load up and say, “Well, we know Giannis wants to get to the rim here, so it ain’t happening.” or we know he wants to get out and if he’s not getting to the rim, it’s going to be that mid-range shot. So, we’re going to give a little help near the elbow there. There’s one clear answer to me. If it’s not Giannis, who I’m saying get him the ball, and that’s Gary Trent Jr. because throughout last season, he was the guy that especially down the stretch hit some of the biggest shots in terms of the biggest moments where Gary just came up clutch in those spots in the playoffs, some big moments. Uh, in that eight-game win streak where any time it was late in the game and there was a pivotal, man, you really need this, it felt like Gary Trent Jr. was knocking it down. So to me, that is my number two choice of who Giannis is looking for with the ball in his hands in that spot if his shot isn’t there. Yeah, I think that’s really fair too because as you pointed out, Gary’s proven like one that he’s not scared of the moment, which I think is a big part of wanting to take the last shot of like you can’t be scared of the moment. Either you make it or you miss it, but you know you put the work in, so it’s a good shot. And Gary is somebody who personifies that. I do think your point about not Giannis if it’s a three-point deficit though like if it is a three-point deficit like then in that case like I want to see some actions ran for AJ Green because of just one how small of a window it is that he needs to get the shot up like it’s very minuscule. Um, so if you can find situations to get him the ball in movement off the off a dribble handoff, whatever it might be, off ball movement, like find a way to get the ball into his hands for that three-point shot, and I’ll live with the results that come from that. But I also think Kevin Porter Jr. had a lot of spots last year in the regular season more so than the playoffs where he showed too that not scared to take this shot, will take this shot and have seen some stretches last year where his scoring actually kept propel the Bucks to a victory. So like there there are some options which but and some might look at that and be like well you don’t have one consistent like you knew Dame if if it’s not Giannis you got Dame if it wasn’t him when Chris was there you had Chris and you knew you could count on them but now it feels like it’s not one other person outside of Giannis that you’re pointing to like it has to be them but more so of like you got a couple of different options kind of depending on how things go. Um Kevin Porter Jr. To your point, it wasn’t a lot. It was a small sample, only 10 games that he was with the Bucks and they were in those clutch situations. But I think Chameleia had a 66 100 shooting split on field goals, threes, and free throws. But Gary Tren Jr. was their fourth most attempted field goals in the clutch last season and he was their leader in three-pointers made in the clutch on a team that had Damen Lillard and Dne played in more of those games than Gary Trent Jr. So, he’s a guy that certainly displayed that in his time with the Bucks a season ago. Leave your thoughts. If it’s not Giannis, who’s taken the last shot for this team in a onep possession game? And this is a different conversation than who’s the second leading scorer uh on this team. Also, when you mentioned the minding the game podcast and the the mention that KD made, um like do you get paid for how frequently you’re referencing that podcast on the show? Have you worked on an endorsement? Obviously what’s going to happen Justin is one day they’re going to figure out I keep talking about and bigging him up and then Steve Nash is going to be like of course I want to talk to Camille about and I’m like absolutely I’m going to pass out because growing up he might already be in your mentions if you just tweet out this is what you’re doing. Listen Steve Nash that was my favorite my my favorite player growing up. Steve Nash and Jason Kidd were two of them outside of the Jordan time period of like the two of them love watching kid and Nash play. Did uh did KD mention at all when that conversation was had? Was it Devin Booker that said that to him and that’s what prompted Bud telling him like, “We don’t need the It was not Devin Booker. It was uh I forget who it was, but it was like one of the role players who was like, “No, we need you to shoot threes.” And he was like, “No, I don’t. You shoot it.” Well, there’s um some other pieces. I don’t know if news is the right way to put it, but there’s some updates with some players on the team. And one more lingering question that exists. We’ll get to that conversation coming up after this. All right. So, we have some jersey updates, Camille. I I saw one of them and you quickly pointed out, no, there’s several that are taking place. Yeah. So, apparently, uh, we have three different Bucks and three different New Jersey numbers this upcoming season. So, Kevin Porter Jr. is moving to number seven, apparently, which was Chris Livingston’s number. Chris Livingston is now moving to 24. and Kyle Cuz moving from 18 to number zero, which was his number with the Lakers. Um, so hopefully, you know, the Cougs going from 18 back to zero, getting back to that Laker, that Laker role player way, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, channel it, channel it in, uh, for this stretch run with the Bucks here. Um, KPJ was what, 77 with the Clippers, right? Yes. Um, I mean, I would just assume it’s softly retired by the Bucks of like, well, we haven’t announced the ceremony yet, but this this belongs to Ursan and Ursan only forever Ursa. Um, the other update that we got, no surprise here as we’ve continued to talk through the roster, and this was one of the lingering questions coming in where I I think a lot of us were intrigued by the skill set of Bogey and maybe trying to talk yourself into it, albeit for a player picked at 47. But, um, that time is not going to be at the NBA level this season. and the Bucks are putting him on loan where he’ll remain uh playing in Europe and the I suppose thought is bulk up a little bit. He’s going to be the veteran on that team. I can’t remember which team. So, bad job by me, but he’s basically going to be the veteran that’s asked to lead those guys. Same team that he played on the previous two seasons, I believe, and bulk up a little bit and just continue to develop. And then next summer, it’s a different conversation that we have. Yeah, I was one of those people who was hoping that he would be rostered this year. I was hoping that summerly you saw the flashes um of the skill sets that led the Bucks to drafting him, which is, you know, that the shooting touch, the play making, um some of the postplay from him. Again, knowing that he needs to bulk up, add some strength to that frame, panel physicality up this level because even in Summer League, he was being moved by guards at certain points um during the play. So my initial thought was like just bring him over so he can train with the team be under their control. You know, see what it takes from an NBA level, watch Giannis, watch Miles Turner, watch the vets that he does have on this team and continue to improve. But seeing how the summer shook out and just seeing his playing summer league, I can completely understand why it’s one more year. Go ahead, go back, you know, playing for mega basket. Do what you do over there and then we’ll re-evaluate next summer because they have his draft rights. there’s no need for them to rush the clock on when they have to start paying him. They don’t feel like he’s ready for the role yet. So, I was a little sad to see that things didn’t work out with Bogey this summer the way I was hoping that it would, but ultimately, you know, it panned out because I mean, Chris Livingston’s back. You know, he’s on the team again after being let go. So, you know, at least locked on is represented by, you know, one one of their players here. Yeah, the Serbian team KK Mega Basket is where he’s going to be playing again next season. Um, so I would imagine we’re all going to be interested to keep an eye on some of those stats and and the development of Bogey this upcoming season. There there’s also, you know, we talked about um Tyler Smith and some of the writeups on him and we talked about it with Frank, too. Um, I forget who it was, so my apologies, but I know one of our everydayers had left a comment of like, I take it, you guys didn’t see the the story that Eric Name worked on talking about potentially transitioning to a three and the Bucks kind of wanting him to take on some of those perimeter assignments more. I did. I’m assuming you did as well, but I I think there’s certainly more of a need there than there is at the four right now. But it’s it’s impossible to not say that Kyle Kosma uh after Summer League, Chris Livingston, if you’re playing smaller, AJ Green, and or Gary Trent, that there’s there’s still a lot of guys in front of Tyler Smith for the time being. Shoot. And that’s what I even mentioned in Torian Prince who, you know, who’s back on the roster with my name. Yeah, to like there’s there’s a few options there and and when we had the conversation about Tyler Smith, it wasn’t a lack of that article because I I saw that as well, but more so like what my eyes saw of I’m not sure what position he is at this point in his career because again, we saw even before summerly just the workout footage from Tyler Spence and some of the things that he was doing with the ball in his hands where it’s like a little intrigued about what what this could possibly And then maybe it’s just because summer league one, it’s a very difficult environment to evaluate certain things when it comes to people’s games because it’s a lot of guys who are all out there really trying to fight for jobs, opportunities. So the play can be just a little bit more uh let’s say less polished in the summer than at other times in the NBA calendar. So there’s something take with a grain of salt. But the things I was looking to see from Tyler Smith, I still wasn’t able to see them in summer league. Like the shooting touch that abandoned him for the first few games. And again, you got to keep shooting. Shoo or shoot. That happens from time to time. You keep shooting, but like what else is in the game? The playmaking wasn’t really there for him, for me. Um, and just the other look, like decision- making was still a little slow at times. He did crash the glass at times, stole some possessions there, but like there’s still more work and growth for him to do in his game. And it’s fine. He’s only what 20 years old at this point. So like he is still very young in his career. We don’t know what he’s going to become yet. It’s just that summer league was not an encouraging uh environment this year being like, “Yeah, I’m going to add in to my Tyler Smith stock here and continue to ride it, but like he’s a young he’s a young guy, so he has time still to figure things out.” Yeah. I mean, he’s he’s gonna not to turn this into the the Tyler Smith show, but he he’s going to turn 21 in November. Um, and it it it probably sounded as as though we came off a little harsh in that conversation. Um, I I won’t speak for you. I mean, I know that wasn’t my intention. Um, but I think the the important thing is he’s young, right? And when the Bucks drafted him, you drafted him knowing it was a project that he had played one year with GLeague Ignite of the age that we just referenced. This this was going to be a process to develop him and get him up to speed. So, I’m not totally discouraged and like I’m completely out on him given the performance in summer league because there’s going to be ups and downs with young guys. But I think going back to one of the things that Frank mentioned in the numbers in the G- League and how those tailed off towards the end of the season and then you couple that with the summer league performance. Having said all that, that he’s young and it’s going to be time and he’s a project. It’s also important that we see some steady progression this season and he can start to build on that because he’s going to be in summer league next year. I think it’s safe to assume and that’s going to be extremely important for him to to basically do things like we saw from Chris Livingston this year. Yeah. And sometimes progress isn’t linear. Like you you take a couple steps forward, you might take a couple back, but then you got to keep it’s up and down. It’s not always that straight line going up like ascending. So, like there is still some time, but again, as you mentioned, next summer, like that that time feels like it’s ticking a little bit louder at that point in his career, but that’s the whole part of player development. Like, you have to see what you what you have with these players. You got to let them stumble at times, stretch their legs, see what they can really do. Sometimes they succeed at it, sometimes they don’t, but you got to kind of give them the opportunity to do so. And for Tyler Smith, it’s been summer league and it’s been G, you know, G-League minutes for him so much. and this upcoming season looking at the roster like I I still don’t see the pathway for a lot of playing time for him without injuries affecting it or a situation where it’s games where guys are sitting. So again, where he’s going to be able to show that progress is going to probably be in the G-League again this year because NBA teams just don’t practice all that frequently. Like there’s practice for sure. So, like you can see lineups changing based on what guys are doing, but the frequency level for I think somebody like a Tyler Smith um isn’t high enough practice-wise to be like, yeah, what he’s doing in practice alone is going to get him on the court. It’s going to be everything else that comes with it for him, I think. Yeah. Which which is perfectly fine. I think it was on one of the shows this week, too, that we said, you know what the expectations are and here’s the things that you need to work on. Work on those in the G-League. shows the development and that’s all we’re looking for this upcoming season. There’s been a ton of interest in uh Tyler Smith. I mean, we’ve talked about through the years the Bucks haven’t had a whole lot of young players to develop and now we’ve started to see more of them than we had certainly the last what five years prior to the last couple of years here. Um, so I get it and maybe it even warrants us to do a show totally devoted to Tyler Smith that we’ll do live and and be able to take your thoughts and questions about him as well. So we may do that down the road here in the off season. But um, speaking of as we wrap it here, Tyler Smith and some other names, not so much Tyler Smith. I know Frank put it out there, but I think there’s one other guy that’s probably a little more danger in terms of roster security. Um, you can’t help but bring up that question once again when we see the news that Dasis officially cleared and he’s going to be playing for Greece in Eurob or is he playing for Greece? He’s he’s working out with them and he’s been cleared. I’m not sure if he’s officially on the team. I didn’t see his name in the initial listings, but maybe now that he’s cleared, he does join the team. Um, I mean, is this the worst kept secret in the league? Is this what you’re taking it as that we’re just slowly onboarding back to the Bucks or is it a little more complicated? I would assume he’s he’s back on the Bucks if if it’s an NBA spot that he’s looking for. And I did see some of the things that came out about like he is looking for an NBA spot but not on a different team. And maybe that comes to fruition, but ultimately like the Nassis, he’s been a buck. Even when he wasn’t on the team, he was in five serve. The Bucks record when he was in the building for a while there was impeccable. Um so like yeah, end of the bench guy. But again too, if the Nasses is somebody who joins the roster, let’s say at the expense of an Andre Jackson Jr., you’re replacing, you know, a 66 67 guy with a a 6667 guy. You’re replacing him with Andre Jackson Jr. basically. Pretty much. Pretty much. So like I wouldn’t I wouldn’t The age part of it for sure plays a part in like how people can receive it. But again, if it’s something that keeps Giannis happy, the MVP, somebody who also provides value to the locker room with his personality, being consistent day in and day out, uh, I’m here for it. The A I mean, 33 years old coming off Achilles. We do have to keep that in mind. But yeah, I mean, it’s I think Frank was the first to bring it up, too. The comps of an Ajax actually kind of reminds you of that just unbridled energy. And uh, yes, he will be with team Greece and Euro Basket. He was just called up to that team. I’m not even going to attempt to pronounce the name of the 19-year-old that he’s replacing on their roster in this quick turnaround, but yes, he is going to be playing for uh the Greek national team in Euro Basket 2025. Uh leave your thoughts as well. Worst is it the worst kept secret in the league and is it a month from now? We’re talking about the Nasa Zakmpo back with the Bucks as they head into the regular season. That will do it for today’s show for Camille. I’m Justin. We’ll talk with you guys once again tomorrow on Locked on Books.

Giannis Antetokounmpo: The NBA’s Most Crucial Player? Milwaukee Bucks face tough questions as they prepare for games without their superstar.

Justin Garcia and Camille Davis analyze the Bucks’ strategy when Giannis sits, exploring potential key players like Kevin Porter Jr. The hosts debate clutch shot selection, highlighting Gary Trent Jr.’s surprising impact last season. Player updates include Bogoljub Markovic’s European development and concerns over Tyler Smith’s summer league performance. The possibility of Thanasis Antetokounmpo rejoining the Bucks adds intrigue to roster discussions.

Tune in for expert insights on how the Bucks can maintain their competitive edge, with or without Giannis on the court.

0:00 Intro: Giannis’ importance to the Bucks
5:56 Offense without Giannis: Challenges and options
20:37 Jersey number changes for Bucks players
22:29 Markovic to play in Europe next season
26:42 Tyler Smith’s development and future outlook
30:49 Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s potential return to Bucks

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBucks?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

#MilwaukeeBucks #Bucks #GiannisAntetokounmpo #DamianLillard #NBA

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
5-Hour ENERGY
Time to fuel up and turn it up with 5-hour ENERGY®️ Transfusion! Go to https://5hourenergy.com today and use my promo code LOCKEDONGOLF to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)