In a way everyone seems to be overlooking, Bam Adebayo might be exactly what Giannis Antetokounmpo needs to unlock another level of his offensive game. In turn, it could help him get to the point where he's having the best year of his career to date.
More specifically, that could especially be the case on the offensive end of the floor, with the ball in his hands. As crazy or unrealistic as it seems, Bam could unlock even more freedom for Giannis offensively. With how dynamic (and versatile) a player Bam can be defensively, it will take a ton of pressure off Giannis on that end of the floor.
The result? The hope is that with less pressure on his shoulders defensively, Giannis will be able to operate at an entirely different level on the offensive end of the floor. And that could very well lead Giannis to have one of the best years of his career with the ball in his hands, opening the pathway for the Miami Heat to be better than expected this season.
Why Bam can unlock another level for Giannis on the floor
When it comes to pure winning basketball, there may not be a player in the NBA who is more overlooked than Bam. The entire impact that he makes every night for the Heat isn't easily quantifiable by the stat sheet.
But that could all change with Giannis. Because a lot of that winning impact that Bam makes every night will be quantifiable in how much easier the game starts being for Giannis.
It's not even just the fact that Bam will be able to take much of the immediate pressure off Giannis defensively. That will happen. But even on the offensive end of the floor, Bam isn't going to create this logjam of spacing that most believe will happen.
Bam will be a natural fit next to Giannis
Bam will give Giannis a floor spacer in the frontcourt that he hadn't had since Brook Lopez. A player who could defend the rim at a high level but also emerge as a very lethal shooting threat from the outside is rare in today's game.
Giannis benefited from that a few years ago with Brook Lopez. During their championship run, Lopez played a key part next to Giannis. With Bam, Giannis is about to get that level of threat, along with a much higher ceiling than Lopez had.
Bam is also a player who doesn't necessarily need the ball in his hands to be effective offensively. He can thrive in the pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop, hover in the corners, or even feast on the boards.
Giannis will have a similar type of freedom he's used to in Milwaukee, with a much better supporting cast than he had during his final few years with the Bucks. And perhaps the best supporting star he's ever played with in his career.
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