"Daddy ball in the paint" - NBA analyst hilariously describes Giannis Antetokounmpo's inexplicable performance
Former NBA player turned analyst Kendrick Perkins had a hilarious phrase to describe Giannis Antetokounmpo's dominant effort against the Chicago Bulls. The two-time MVP led the Milwaukee Bucks to their sixth win of the season and fourth in five games, scoring 41 points in the 122-106 triumph.
Giannis didn't settle at all in this game, taking only four of his 24 attempts outside the paint. He exploited Chicago's weak interior defense to give the Bucks a significant advantage. Perkins took to X to summarize the "Greek Freak's" huge night, saying:
"It’s not just want Giannis is doing but it’s how he’s doing it… just might be the most dominant offensive performance I’ve seen this season. Just straight tomato chest and Daddy ball in the paint. My God"
Giannis shot 17 of 24. He missed only one-fourth of his 20 shots in the paint. The former MVP added nine rebounds and eight assists while making 14 trips to the foul line. While he wasn't efficient from the charity stripe, shooting only 50.0%, it created a significant advantage for the Bucks as they got the Bulls in foul trouble and pressured their defense to collapse.
The Bucks created several open looks out of it, which explains Giannis nearly getting a double-double with assists. The Bucks shot an above-average 13 of 36 from 3-point range.
Bucks getting back on track amid Giannis Antetokounmpo's MVP-caliber efforts
The noise around the Bucks' tumultuous start to the 2023-24 NBA season is seemingly cooling off. Giannis Antetokounmpo's MVP-caliber performances are helping them get back on track after the team slumped to eight losses in the opening 10 games. With four wins in the last five, the Bucks are back and there's no one more deserving to get the credit for this turnaround than Giannis.
In 14 games, he's produced a league-high 32.1 points, 12.1 rebounds and 6.0 assists, shooting 61.0%. During the Bucks' five-game stretch with a 4-1 record, Giannis has tallied 33.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 7.6 apg and 2.4 bpg.
The Bucks star has preached for the team to play with intensity, effort and a level of competition, and he's certainly leading from the front. His MVP stock is also increasing every game.
Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn't won the award since the 2019-20 season, but if he continues to play at this level for majority of the 82-game stretch and gets the Bucks on top, it will be tough to argue his case.