Eric Nehm: With Bucks, “Is There Anything That Really Needs Fixing?”

On the heels of a disappointing Eastern Conference finals exit at the hands of the Raptors, The Athletic’s Eric Nehm is here to talk all things Milwaukee Bucks, including Giannis Antetokounmpo’s MVP campaign, the Bucks’ spectacular season, Mike Budenholzer’s inaugural year at the helm and the significant offseason looming ahead.

Some noteworthy clips (Particular time stamps may vary due to dynamic advertising.):

9:02-9:15: “I guess a less mature 24-year-old would just be angry and not really thinking about exactly how he gets better, but here’s Giannis, two days later, saying, ‘You know, I gotta find a way to be more comfortable in the midrange.’”

14:58-17:04: “I think Khris [Middleton] just really understands Giannis, and Giannis really appreciates guys that play hard, show up every night and can go out and actually take care of business … Giannis can help out with some of the rim protection, Khris can switch a bunch of different things; he also can defend other team’s No. 1s. And because he can defend the league’s best wings, guys like Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis can stay on the back side and just be the free safety and attempt to just wreak havoc essentially. So it all just kind of works, and then on top of it, there’s just no frills. Khris doesn’t really have an ego. He doesn’t really go out there and demand more shots or anything like that.”

25:07-25:54: “If Giannis is Giannis in that series, they win. If Fred VanVleet doesn’t turn into Steph Curry for the final [three] games of that series, the Bucks win. I know when you don’t make it to the Finals, there’s always the desire to be like, ‘Oh, man. You gotta figure out what was wrong and you gotta fix it.’ And it’s just like, ‘Well, is there anything that really needs fixing or could it just go a little bit better?’ So the reason they didn’t win this year is Giannis wasn’t Giannis in the Eastern Conference finals. If you give me the chance to bet on Giannis being Giannis or Giannis being even better next year, I will take that bet 10 out of 10 times.”

35:42-37:33: “He [coach Mike Budenholzer] entered this season with a very clear vision of how this team would play. On defense, they were going to take away the rim, they were not gonna foul, and they were gonna force teams to shoot above-the-break 3s. On offense, they were gonna spread the floor, they were gonna play five out, and they were gonna let Giannis try to get to the rim. And if you decide to take that away, they were gonna kick it out and shoot 3s, and he installed it successfully. That’s exactly what they did. That’s exactly how they won 60 games. … The question about him has always been: Can Bud make the adjustments he needs to make in the postseason or is he just gonna stay in the kind of style that he’s played throughout the regular season? … I thought he answered that question, and it’s very clear that he is willing to adjust. Now, do the adjustments work? That is a fair question.”

Eric’s Giannis feature referenced throughout the interview: https://theathletic.com/1001604/2019/05/30/giannis-antetokounmpo-unplugged-bucks-star-sounds-off-about-his-playoff-performance-and-teams-tough-finish/. Eric can also be heard co-hosting Locked On Bucks. Additionally, you can find his book on the Bucks right here.