NBA Swing: Jrue’s True Value, Mile High Blow, & Top 25 Under 25 ESPN Remix.

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Over the past two years, no one in the NBA has solidified their superstardom more so than Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak has taken home the MVP each of the past two seasons as well as making both first-team All-NBA and All-Defensive. This past offseason Giannis agreed to sign a five-year super-max extension worth $228.2 million that’ll kick in starting fall of 2021. The deal only made sense for his desire to build something special in Milwaukee in hopes of bringing home the Larry O’Brien trophy. Despite his dominance on both sides of the floor, the Bucks have come up short in the postseason after their highly touted start to finish regular-season records. The biggest takeaway from the Bucks shortcomings is Giannis’ handicapped ability to create offense in the half-court when opposing defenses close the lanes down on him as evident as what the Miami Heat did to him during last year’s Eastern Conference Semis when the pace/tempo of the game really slows down. We’ve knocked Giannis for not developing an effective perimeter jump shot or evolving his offensive game even in his eighth season but the truth is we just need to accept him for the hall of fame talent he already is.

Giannis is very similar to Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in essence where their go-to moves and spots on the floor can be studied and neutralized. No matter how dominant they are in the paint they need a perimeter offensive threat that can create instant offense to take the pressure off of them. As for Shaq, who had three of the greatest guards to ever play right by his side in Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade was an incompetent ball handler especially moving into his prime. Giannis on the other hand who averages a career 4.5 assists/game can take over point guard duties for small stretches but because of his ability to generate offense for himself and his teammates. The past couple playoff exits the Bucks have suffered have been due to the fact that teams figured out their weaknesses and have forced them to play a style that their current personnel isn’t quite made up of to adapt to in the half-court. Khris Middleton, who’s one of the most underrated players in the world has found himself dealing with the burden of creating and producing most of the half-court offense come playoff time for the Bucks. Middleton’s averaging 20.3 points, 6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists (career-high) this year and has been flirting with 50/40/90 shooting splits each of the past two seasons. Middleton is an exceptional and all-star caliber player but asking him to be the engine of offense is asking a bit much out of him. He’s proven that he can get hot with the best of him but we all know he’s not quite in the same class as the James Hardens, Kevin Durants, and Bradley Beals of the world. This wasn’t a knock on him or Giannis but more so up to the Bucks front office to maximize the most out of their two All-Stars while they’re in the midst of their prime.

Just last week the Bucks and their two-way combo guard Jrue Holiday agreed to a four-year/ $134 million extension. The Bucks are confident that the trio of Antetokounmpo-Middleton-Holiday will make them Eastern Conference heavyweights and championship contenders in the near future. Jrue Holiday just like Middleton has been flying under the radar for years, some of that due to the fact that he’s never quite gotten the same warranted national attention and he plays the deepest position in the league that is currently in the golden age since the league merger. Jrue Holiday on the season is putting up 17.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists a night. Holiday is shooting 50% from the field, 40% from deep, and 83% from the charity stripe. Holiday had missed some time in February due to testing positive for COVID-19. Upon return, Holiday had to re-acclimate himself to in-game shape conditioning due to the impactful symptoms he suffered while he had COVID-19. Since the All-Star break, Holiday has come back to true form averaging 19.9/4.9/5.8 on 52/45/91 shooting splits. Holiday was also recently named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for week 15 after posting 26.8 points and 8.5 assists on 62% shooting from the floor.

“He guarded me the whole series, picking me up full court. He was guarding me in the post and actually it was tough to dribble on Jrue Holiday, he slides his feet so well, he got good hands, he’s strong, he got good instincts. I gained a lot of respect for him in that series because he went from guarding me to Klay, to Steph, to guarding Draymond, neutralizing the pick and roll. He’s special, he’s special on that side of the ball.” That was an excerpt from Kevin Durant when he appeared on JJ Redick’s The Old Man & the Three Podcast. Jrue has been recognized as one of if not the best defenders in the league. The two-time All-Defensive guard can truly guard positions 1-4. Holiday who stands at 6’3 205 pounds plays bigger than his size, similar to a bull size running back. He uses his strong core and frame to counter smaller opposing guards quick dribble drives and frontcourt post-ups. Holiday is the most ideal prototype guard defender for today’s NBA climate. You could probably debate other unique guys like Marcus Smart and Ben Simmons but Holiday is right up there with all of them. Jrue’s most signature career moment was his coming-out party in the 2018 Western Conference first-round vs the Portland Trail Blazers.

Tasked with guarding one of the best backcourts of the late 2010s in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Alongside another defensive guard pest in Rajon Rondo, they both wreaked havoc on the perimeter against Lillard and McCollom absolutely leaving them no bubble room to breathe or dance around screens to generate scoring opportunities off the dribble. Lillard was held to just 18 points a game on 35% from the field and 30% from the three-point line. As for Jrue he wasn’t just outstanding on the defensive end but served as the perfect batman to then Pelicans franchise player Anthony Davis. Jrue averaged 27/4/6 on 56% from the field including a 41 point outburst in Game 4 the final game of the eventual sweep of the third-seeded Trail Blazers. Jrue isn’t a guard that looks for his offense first or is someone that commands the floor like a Chris Paul or Rajon Rondo but he fits seamlessly because of his dual-threat ability to give any team what they need on both sides of the floor. He can get to the rim, shoot the midrange, shoot the 3, hit his free throws, and does it all while not interrupting the team’s offensive flow. Jrue’s versatility to play both the one and the two, create in the half-court, and defend the opposing team’s premier offensive threat is what made him worth every penny of that contract extension. Regardless of whatever star status people may feel Jrue doesn’t possess to be worthy of it will be aware of it once the postseason starts because he may just be the Bucks’ reason why they’re playing into June instead of April.

Mile High Blow

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was diagnosed with a torn ACL after he went down on a downhill drive to the rim vs the Warriors on Tuesday night. This comes as devastating news to a team with championship aspirations. Murray was having a career year averaging 21.2 points and 4.8 assists a night while shooting 48% from the field and 40% from deep. The Nuggets pick and roll game featuring Murray and MVP candidate Nikola Jokic is one of their most lethal offensive tactics. Jokic is a pass-first superstar but also one of the most skilled offensive scorers in the NBA as well. Nuggets may not be able to duplicate the same pick and roll firepower they did with a healthy Murray but with the recent ascendance of Michael Porter Jr. (21.8 ppg & 9.5 rpg over last 10 contests) and Aaron Gordon, the Nuggets will still be a handful on the offensive end. Jokic will have to be the focal point of the offense both scoring and playmaking wise if the Nuggets want to be Western Conference heavyweights. It’ll be up to three-level scoring forward Michael Porter Jr., versatile wing Will Barton, backup guard Monte Morris to make up for the lost production Murray brought to the table with his prolific outside shooting and scoring ability. Perhaps the timing of the injury leads head coach Michael Malone to toy with lineups featuring Bol Bol. The 2019 second-round pick out of Oregon has shown very brief flashes during crunch time and he’s a threat to score at any angle on the floor and he’s automatically a mismatch wherever on the floor with his 7’2 stature. Similarly last year Malone was very patient with Porter Jr. as he needed him to be more aware of defensive coverages and rotations if he wanted to earn starter minutes. Once he matures and Michael Malone begins to trust him out there with the regulars the Nuggets will have another identity especially paired with Jokic in the frontcourt. The Nuggets will still be a force not to be reckoned with in the Western Conference but Malone will have to look down his bench to evaluate how they’ll move forward especially with the playoffs not too far away.