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Bucks: 3 things that make the end of the regular season meaningful

By Kenny Jilek

ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 8: Khris Middleton #22 of the Milwaukee Bucks is defended by Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Orlando Magic during the game at the Amway Center on February 8, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. The Bucks defeated the Magic 112 to 95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 8: Khris Middleton #22 of the Milwaukee Bucks is defended by Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Orlando Magic during the game at the Amway Center on February 8, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. The Bucks defeated the Magic 112 to 95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) /

Giannis Antetokounmpo MVP and DPOY Campaign

Giannis Antetokounmpo has put together back-to-back historic seasons and is looking to cap off another MVP year. Right now, he is well ahead in most polls or surveys, but recency bias can always sway voters and he has to close out the final games with a bang.

Giannis is leading the league in just a few categories: Box Plus-Minus, Defensive Box Plus-Minus, Win Shares per 48 minutes, Defensive Win Shares, Defensive Rating, Player Efficiency Rating, Defensive Rebounds, Field Goals, 2-point Field Goals, and he is in the top five in plenty more.

All of those stats point to a second MVP for the Greek Freak. Any arguments for James Harden because of his historic scoring are moot because Giannis is scoring more points per 36 minutes, but just doesn’t play as much because the Bucks are often up by enough that they don’t need him late in games.

The main argument for Lebron James is that he’s having an impressive season at 35 years old, which is no reason at all. Frankly, it’s impressive that Vince Carter is even in the league at 43 years of age and there have only been three other players to play at his age so what he’s doing is spectacular relevant to his age, but that’s not what the MVP is about. It’s the Most Valuable Player Award not the “Who is most impressive relative to their age award”.

Now for the Defensive Player of the Year award that eluded him last year. As stated earlier, he leads the league in Defensive Win Shares, Defensive Box Plus-Minus, Defensive Rating, and Defensive Rebounds. He is also one of the best rim protectors in the NBA.

Giannis is allowing an opponent field goal percentage of 49.0 percent within five feet. For other players in the DPOY conversation like Anthony Davis and Rudy Gobert that number jumps to 59.1 and 60.1 percent respectively and for Bam Adebayo, it’s 63.9. These guys may all block more shots than Antetokounmpo, but he makes them miss at a much higher rate, which is what really matters. As Bill Russell once said, “The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.”

Giannis should have both of these awards locked up, but you never know with voters, and having a couple of memorable highlight blocks into the third row or thundering dunks couldn’t hurt his case. He probably will not play a ton in the final regular-season games, but enough to get him back in the swing of things and enough to get him some more hardware.

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