Watch Ovie on Sky Sports Heatcheck, live on Sky Sports' YouTube channel on Tuesday evening at 5:45pm
Thursday 6 February 2020 06:56, UK
After seeing the Milwaukee Bucks up close in Paris, Ovie Soko expects no let-up from the Eastern Conference leaders in the second half of the season.
The focus of the Milwaukee Bucks in Paris impressed me so much. From the moment the media were allowed in to take a peek into their practice, the players were sharp, not a lot of time was wasted and I could tell they were there to do business.
Given their schedule had been flipped on its head and the travel involved - not to mention the huge circus around them once they arrived in Paris - I felt they were very locked to what they were doing.
The Bucks embraced operating like a machine. You could see the bounce in the players' step. It was just Giannis, it wasn't just their starting five. Their role players, down to the 15th man on the bench, all carried themselves with a certain swagger.
That carried over into gametime, too. They know what they are capable of now. Even from a preparation standpoint, they showed they do not overlook any opponent but that they are also getting ready for something big this season.
That's their goal and that showed against the Hornets in Paris as they took back control of the game and created separation in the fourth. At that point coach Mike Budenholzer called a timeout when they were well ahead just because there had been a defensive breakdown and he wanted to go over it in the huddle.
The Bucks are not trying to bring their best game depending on who they are playing against. They are trying to play at a consistent level so that becomes all they know how to do.
Everyone can appreciate Giannis Antetokounmpo's approach to the game and his 'old school' focus to games and to improving as a player. But to see it up close is…. scary. I remember when he was warming up. I was looking at the way he was moving and it was insane because, even though he was the biggest player on the floor, his quickness was unreal for a man of his size. The way he moved around the floor… it was a joke! It looked like a 10-year-old had made the perfect player seven-foot on NBA 2K and set all their attributes to 100.
To me, Giannis is the leader of the new generation of players, these giants with quickness who can do it all. You have got Giannis, Brand Ingram, Anthony Davis, Pascal Siakam. Even Jayson Tatum is a pretty big boy but you are looking at him playing as a two-guard or at the three-spot at times. Kristaps Porzingis is in there too but his ACL injury has slowed his body down a bit. Giannis is the leader of that new school of player.
Post All-Star break, I don't see Milwaukee slowing down, even when they make that No 1 seed safe. The reason I say that is because their second unit gets the job done as well as their starting five. They are a team that works like a machine, they plug in pieces and the pieces know how to operate when they are on the floor. They know exactly what is required and expected. From that standpoint, even if they started to dial back the minutes of Giannis and their other main guys, the overall output of their well-oiled machine will not scale back.
What I love about this Bucks squad is that you do not see complacency, you don't see them let up. It's not like the veteran Lakers team where LeBron and several of his team-mates have already won championships. The Lakers already have the recipe, the know-how and they know if they follow LeBron, they will be fine. The Bucks are still trying to figure little things out - that's what leads to them putting the beatdown on any and everyone. The Bucks have the young hunger - you won't see them taking any nights off.
Put Devin Booker in the All-Star Game!!! He is shooting 50 per cent from the field and averaging 26.8 points and 6.3 per game. Those numbers, even in a blind man's world, make an All-Star. I take my hat off to how 'Book' has played because he has bought into being a team-mate for a team who are genuinely turning things around and fighting to get back to winning ways in the West. He has played to win and he has not been rewarded.
In the East, I feel Bradley Beal was unfortunate to miss out. He is averaging almost 30 points a game (29.2 PPG). He has been lights out. But then there is the Wizards overall record (17-32) and I think he has lost out because he is not on a winning team. Beal is another player who has been terrific this year, especially with John Wall being out.
Trae Young's Atlanta Hawks team has not won many games, but he has put up terrific numbers, no one is doubting that. But what is the basis for his selection? Is it because he can shoot 35-footers? What makes him an All-Star over players like Booker and Beal. I don't get what the basis is for the selection of these teams. The inconsistency in the selection process is frustrating for a lot of players. Is it about winning? Is it about putting up numbers?
Who would I have left out to get Booker and Beal in? It's very tough. As much as I feel like those two have been snubbed, everyone selected has earned their spot, 100 per cent. Everyone is deserving. It's just that those players have got in for different reasons, not consistent ones. That's where the confusion lies.
In the future, I think there has to be some criteria around selection because deserving players are missing out. I'm not suggesting a specific rulebook that we stick to word-for-word but we need something. Everyone should be held to the same criteria.
People are always going to be close to selection but will miss out. That's what makes the All-Star Game so highly respected - everyone wants to be selected and there are only so many spots. Some players will always be left out. But I feel we need some guidelines to go by so it is clearer whether we are saying winning is being rewarded or we are putting greater value on putting up numbers or breaking records.
You can't keep leaving out guys who are averaging 26, 27, 28, 29 points a game.
Watch Ovie, along with Mo Mooncey and Jaydee Dyer, on Sky Sports Heatcheck, live on Sky Sports' YouTube channel on Tuesday at 5:45pm
