The new-look Milwaukee Bucks have been a massively different team from what they were merely a season ago after taking on the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. While they came close, Giannis Antetokounmpo's heroics were not enough to get them past the Celtics in seven games, which made the offseason addition of Brook Lopez all the more of an X-factor.
Lopez has brought a different dynamic to the center position, capable and willing to hit 3-pointers, while also patrolling the paint with his length, amassing a career-high 2.2 blocks per game.
Antetokounmpo, more than anyone else, knows how much the 7-footer has changed this team for the better:
“He has spaced the floor so well for us all season long,” Antetokounmpo said of Lopez, according to ESPN's Malika Andrews. “He has been hitting 3s and he is making defenses adjust to him. When he came out in the beginning of Game 1 and hit some 3s, they had to adjust and put Thon [Maker] on him and Drummond on me. I am kind of getting upset sometimes when he started hitting the 3s because then I have Andre Drummond guarding me.”
Lopez's ability to hit from downtown often causes switches and even opposing centers to venture out of the paint, allowing for other driving players to use him as a floor-spacing threat.
Antetokounmpo's woes at the 3-point line are now a lot less evident with another shooter on the perimeter, instead of having a John Henson or Greg Monroe clogging up the paint.
Lopez's defensive instincts also have helped Mike Budenholzer turn this roster into one of the NBA's best defenses, using his length and basketball IQ to put him in favorable situations all season long.
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