In 2009, Lebron James won his first MVP and the Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. While Dwight Howard was seen as the defensive stopper for the Orlando Magic, he was not the key cog or even cogs in slowing down Lebron and the Cavaliers. Coach Stan Van Gundy gave that challenge to three versatile forwards: Mikael Pietrus, Hedo Turkoglu, and Rashard Lewis.
To say that Lebron struggled is a bit of a stretch - he averaged 38, 8, and 8 with a slash line of 48.7%/29.7%/74.5%. The supporting cast of Mo Williams, Delonte West, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas just were not good enough. The three Orlando forwards did slow down the 24-year-old just-entering-his-prime Lebron James by tiring him out thus forcing him to hide on defense and recover his energy by guarding 6’5” guard Courtney Lee.
Meanwhile, Mikael Pietrus, Hedo Turkoglu, and Rashard Lewis standing at 6’6“, 6’9”, and 6’10” respectively, feasted on the smaller Cleveland guards. Pietrus and Lewis shot above 47% from three and Turkoglu converted at a 85.7% clip from the charity stripe. Lebron played 44 minutes per game in this series but was unable to impose his will defensively because he had to single-handedly operate the offense for Cleveland which just burnt him out. Don’t believe me about the importance of Lebron’s defense? He finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year in 2009, losing to Dwight Howard, the man waiting in the paint whenever Lebron got past those three forwards.
A decade later, another 24-year old MVP struggled against three forwards and two former Defensive Players of the Year in the Eastern Conference Finals. Giannis Antetokounmpo ran into the Raptors’ three-pronged attack and did not have much of an answer either. Nick Nurse channeled his inner Van Gundy and attacked the Greek Freak in waves. Assigning 2-time DPOY Kawhi Leonard was a given, but rotating Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka on Giannis kept Kawhi's legs fresh so they could be effective on both ends. Waiting for Giannis in the middle was 2013 DPOY and trade deadline jackpot Marc Gasol.
Now, Giannis actually did struggle in this series averaging 22.7, 13.5, 5.5 with a slash line of 44.8%/33.3%/58.3%. The free throws are glaringly obvious as well as the field goal percentage. Giannis shoots 52.5% from the field for his career but Toronto stopped Giannis in transition and forced him to shoot jumpers, convert from the free throw line, or execute in a back-to-the-basket position from the post - all weaknesses of Giannis’s game.
Watching Giannis airball Dirk fade-aways is a reminder of both how good Dirk was and how Giannis needs to improve his half-court game.
Another observation of these two case studies lies in just how good Lebron is. Giannis had a better team than Lebron and had worse stats. Lebron went to Miami and developed a deadly post/inside-out game while improving his jumper and shot selection becoming the most efficient perimeter player in the league. That’s the blueprint for Giannis. It’s right there in front of him. I have no doubt Giannis will improve in these areas. He works on his game constantly and is only 25 years old. The real question is, will he reach his maximum potential with the Bucks or another team? The 24-year-old MVP from 2009 had his best years with the Miami Heat, who will have a lot of cap space in 2021 when Giannis is a free agent...
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