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Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is a problem for opponents. He's a super tall and athletic young player who can get to the rim at will and can also play the point guard position.
It's safe to say Antetokounmpo is one of those once-in-a-generation players. And he's starting to get the attention of coaches around the league.
The most recent of those coaches is Brooklyn Nets leader Kenny Atkinson, who said that the Bucks star is a gigantic problem for defenses in general, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
Article Continues Below“Your game plan gets all [messed up],” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “It’s so different, because he’s a five, a 7-foot guy handling the ball. He’s handling it, he’s setting picks and it’s not a 6-4 guy doing it, it’s a 6-11, 7-foot guy.”
“I’ve seen teams just get messed up in their coverages because it’s so different from what they’re used to seeing, a big guy with that kind of versatility. … It makes it hard, it really does.”
Atkinson is absolutely right here. How are NBA defenses supposed to adequately prepare for a player like Antetokounmpo? One would have to change lineups, schemes, and rotations just to have people who may be able to guard him. It's never a guarantee.
Players like Antetokounmpo are what make coaches say their teams have to defend one player with a five-man approach. Teams have to wall off Antetokounmpo, go under the screens, trap him, and all sorts of other stuff.
And after all that, the Bucks star can still go from halfcourt to the rim in three steps and dunk in your face. There's no game plan for that.
