After a second-half collapse in Brooklyn on Tuesday placed them on the precipice of elimination, the Milwaukee Bucks came out swinging in Game 6 on Thursday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo got going downhill both in transition and even in the halfcourt, when the Bucks did a better job of creating space for him to attack from off-ball positions off the catch, as has been the case whenever Milwaukee looks strong in this series (and, really, overall). When Giannis does this, he gets fouled frequently, and when he does, we are all exposed to the world’s longest free throw routine.
For much of the playoffs, Giannis’ slow free throws have been a story, as he’s been called for several 10-second violations at the line, and fans have taken to counting down while he goes through his tedious process. It’s worn on the opposing team’s players as well, most notably in Game 6 when James Harden became progressively and visibly agitated by Giannis’ inability to hit his darn free throws, which resulted in some entertaining film.
The disdain in the second video is fantastic. He can’t believe Giannis was allowed to go through the entire practice routine before receiving the ball, taking a deep breath, dribbling six times, and eventually launching. The most disappointing thing for everyone is that going through such a long routine doesn’t appear to benefit Giannis at all, as he shot 68.5 percent from the line during the regular season (his third worst percentage of his career) and 52.2 percent in the playoffs.
If there is a saving grace for Giannis it is that Ben Simmons exists to take the heat off of him as the worst free throw shooting star in the playoffs, but at least Simmons gets his misses out of the way in timely fashion, rather than making everyone just kinda stand around waiting for the inevitable split.
