ex-NBA player Gilbert Arenas believes that if Giannis Antetokounmpo develops a jump-shot, it will hurt the team and will freeze the team’s offense
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The 2-times MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has always been criticised for not having a consistent jump shot. It didn’t stop him to win last season’s championship though.
While in this new NBA era, players from every position are practising jump shots, ex – NBA player Gilbert Arenas thinks Giannis doesn’t need a jump shot. He believes Giannis’ jumper can hurt the team.
In his podcast NO CHILL WITH GILBERT ARENAS, he said “I don’t want him to learn how to shoot a jumper”.
Why does Gilbert Arenas believe Giannis shouldn’t focus more on jump shooting?
According to Gilbert, the rest of the team will suffer if Giannis get good at shooting jump shots. To overcome Giannis shooting deficiency, the rest of the team was filled with players who can shoot.
Gilbert said ” If you look at the first 2 games in the finals, he freezes out those players. They were struggling to play.” He mentions that when Giannis chooses to handle the ball, the offense becomes stagnate.
More posting up can take Giannis to the next level
Gilbert wants Giannis to play more in the paint. Since it will attract more double teams and create more open shots for the rest of the team. Gilbert wants him to become a “more versatile Tim Duncan.”
Currently, Giannis is shooting 29.2% from the arc. But it didn’t bother him in the 2021 NBA Finals since he averaged 35.2 pts in that series. He dominated the Pheonix Suns in the paint.
Currently his team Milwaukee Bucks is 8th seed in the Eastern Conference since they had a rocky start this season. So far Giannis’s jumper doesn’t look that improved compared to last season.
While some fans think Gilbert’s take on this is a poor one, nobody can deny that Giannis is more deadly in the post and midpoint region.