Portland Trail Blazers: 3 takeaways from their triumph over the Bucks

Aminu really is a pretty good defender

You know, there’s something to be said about feeling pretty confident about putting Al-Farouq Aminu onto the ever-mismatch that is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Obviously, no one can stop him, but Aminu is a good option to contain him.

Tonight, Aminu was the usual matchup for Giannis. Chief ended the game with a +2 plus-minus to go along with his eight points and seven rebounds.

While Antetokounmpo was never actually neutralized, Aminu did a good job of making it difficult on him to get to his spots and deliberately leaving him open from midrange to guard against a driving ball-handler. For a moment, especially in the first quarter, it looked like the Bucks were going to be relying on Brook Lopez to carry them in this game since Giannis couldn’t get anything going.

No doubt, Giannis’s presence became more apparent when Turner was forced to guard him. This is not a knock on Turner – who had a wonderful game himself (16 points, 11 rebounds) – but a way to articulate Aminu’s effectiveness.

If Aminu can continue being a defensive stalwart, he will be very valuable to the Blazers ability to be competitive in the playoffs. Having a guy who can legitimately contain the best players in the league while hitting around 36 percent from deep will make the Blazers into a real threat.

The Blazers hope to keep their winning streak going against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, November 8 at 7:00 P.S.T.