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Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller is going to take points no matter how you give them to him. That's why there's no shame in deking out the Milwaukee Bucks' potential league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in order to notch both an additional steal and two points.
Cody Zeller saw an opportunity and he took it 🤣 pic.twitter.com/AdXFr1adD8
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 10, 2019
Whether or not Antetokounmpo took more than two steps while he fumbled around with the ball is up for debate, but that's a rare lapse from all parties involved — except for Zeller, of course. Charlotte's center played just 23 minutes during the loss, but that bucket and those two points were his easiest of the night, even if it did take some trickery — like calmly walking towards Antetokounmpo, just to quickly snatch the ball away — to get it done.
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Quietly, Zeller has had a strong season in the center of the floor for the Hornets when healthy. Inserted back into the starting five on a consistent basis in 2018-19, Zeller has averaged 10.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. He collected 10 points and three rebounds Saturday.
As for Antetokounmpo, his pride will survive. He dominated Charlotte to the tune of 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists en route to his fifth consecutive double-double, while helping the Bucks move to 27-5 at home on the year. He can afford the occasional additional turnover and will still find himself on the short list for MVP.
Whether Zeller has any more tricks up his sleeve versus Milwaukee would have to be decided come playoff time, as the Hornets are battling just to make the postseason, while the Bucks are closing in on the league's No. 1 seed.
