Getty Giannis Antetokounmpo is the odds-on favorite to be the NBA MVP.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has seen a lot of success against Boston this season. In three regular-season meetings, he eclipsed 30 points each time, including a 33-point outburst back in November. He has scored at least 20 points in all five matchups including the postseason with a low of 22 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
He led all scorers to help Milwaukee even the series at 1-1 on Tuesday night, tallying 29 points on 7-of-16 shooting. He also notched fourth double-double of the playoffs by snatching 10.
The only thing standing between the Celtics and the NBA Finals the last two seasons was LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers. Flash forward to this May, and another superstar with an upstart Midwestern team could present a similar obstacle.
That’s the position Shannon Sharpe took on Fox Sports’ Undisputed on Wednesday.
The Celtics have no answer for Giannis — Brown, Tatum, whomever, Morris, they have no answer. It's almost like when they're playing Cleveland and trying to deal with LeBron.
via @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/W9rks4OZ6w
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 1, 2019
“They got no answer for him,” the former NFL tight end stated. “Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, whomever, Marcus Morris…they have no answer for (Giannis). It was like when they were playing Cleveland and tried to deal with LeBron.
“Legends are cultivated and made come playoff time,” Sharpe continued when talking about Antetokounmpo. “This is his opportunity to do all of that.”
So far in the postseason, Antetokounmpo has averaged 26 points, 11 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest (including the 4-game sweep of the Pistons in the opening round). He’s very close to those numbers in the 2 games versus the Celtics.
How does he compare LeBron’s production in the last two conference finals series against Boston? Games over 30 points won’t have shooting percentages, and especially bad turnovers numbers will be included.
Giannis Antetokounmpo 2019
- Game 1: 22 points (7-of-21), 8 rebounds, 2 assists
- Game 2: 29 points (7-of-16), 10 rebounds, 4 assists
LeBron James 2018
- Game 1: 15 points (5-of-16), 7 rebounds, 9 assists (and 7 turnovers)
- Game 2: 42 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists (and 6 turnovers)
- Game 3: 27 points (8-of-12), 5 rebounds and 12 assists
- Game 4: 44 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists (and 7 turnovers)
- Game 5: 26 points (11-of-22), 10 rebounds, 5 assists (and 6 turnovers)
- Game 6: 46 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists
- Game 7: 35 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists (and 8 turnovers)
LeBron James 2017
- Game 1: 38 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists
- Game 2: 30 points (12-of-18), 4 rebounds, 7 assists
- Game 3: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists (and 6 turnovers)
- Game 4: 34 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists
- Game 5: 35 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists
While a couple of clunkers under 20 points existed in there for James, he also reached 40 points three times, and reached 30 points in eight of 12 games.
Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo still hasn’t scored over 30 points during this postseason against Boston. As FiveThirtyEight points out, Al Horford was more effective on defense in Game 1.
Horford was sensational on defense, coming away with three blocks of his own (to go with 20 points and 11 rebounds), while backup big Aron Baynes was essentially just as effective. Combined, the two held Antetokounmpo to 2-of-10 shooting for just 9 points while guarding him, per ESPN Stats & Info. (Even when the Celtics fouled him, it generally worked OK, as Giannis shot just 5 of 10 at the line.)
If Milwaukee is going to hit 20-of-47 triples as it did in Game 2, he won’t need to do much more than he’s already doing.
Game 3 tips off at Boston’s TD Garden on Friday night (8 p.m. EST) on ESPN.