Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks handles the ball during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. (Getty Images)

Giannis Antetokounmpo is well aware he’s far from being a finished product.

Sounds ridiculous to even suggest that the reigning NBA MVP, who averaged 27.7 points per game, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, shot 58 percent from the field and led his team to the best record in the Eastern Conference during the 2018-19 season, still has plenty of room for improvement. But that is the case with the 24-year-old Greek Freak, who is only scratching the surface of his prodigious talent.

“I always think that I can improve,” Giannis told NBA TV. “That’s the one thing I have been doing, and I’m gonna keep doing it. There are going to be times that I’m not going to improve anymore. But as long as I keep working hard, keep believing in myself, I think I will keep getting better.”

“I can tell you right off the top of my head five things I could do better,” he added. “I could shoot more threes, catch and shoot threes so I can help my teammates space the floor better. I could be able to playmake more. I could improve my handles. Make my handles more tight. There’s a lot of things I can improve.”

Milwaukee is among the favorites to win the NBA championship. But first things first. The Bucks need to learn from last year’s disappointing finish in the playoffs.

“We try to get better each day. We try to compete at practice and create a habit that can carry over to the game,” Giannis said. “We know teams are going to come and try to win games against us. But we gotta be ready. We gotta do what we did last year. Defend together. Move the ball offensively. If we keep doing that we’re gonna be fine.”

OneManFastBreak.net predicts the eight teams that’ll make the playoffs out of the Eastern Conference.

1-Milwaukee Bucks (60-22) – Giannis said losing in the conference finals “stinks.” The Bucks had the Toronto Raptors down 2-0 and could have gone up 3-0 in the series. But it didn’t happen. The Raptors rallied and won the next four games and captured the franchise’ first NBA championship. This season’s theme for Giannis and the Bucks is finish. They must finish the job, and they could have the squad to get over the hump. The addition of Wes Matthews gives them another wing 3-pointer shooter to go with Khris Middleton and Kyle Korver. The key is point guard Eric Bledsoe. Can Bledsoe play big when the Bucks need him most? That’s a question that won’t be answered until April.

2-Philadelphia 76ers (57-25) – The last time when saw Joel Embiid, he was crying as he left the court after a devastating loss in Game 7. Embiid’s raw emotion was telling. His desire to win is greater than we thought. Embiid will be highly motivated to push the Sixers deep in the playoffs. If you believe the videos on social media, Ben Simmons has a 3-point shot now. Simmons has been flashing his brand-new jumper during pickup games but we won’t know for sure how confident he is with his wetter until the regular season begins. Simmons’ growth as a shooter could be the leap the 76ers need to be able to move past the Bucks and advance to the franchise’s first NBA Finals since the Allen Iverson era.

3-Toronto Raptors (49-33) – The Raptors gave forward Pascal Siakam a huge vote of confidence by signing him to a four-year, $130 million max contract extension. The move signals that the Raptors believe Siakam, 25, can become the cornerstone of the franchise. He had a breakout season in 2018-19, averaging 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists en route to winning the Most Improved Player award. His improvement on offense and defense were major reasons why the Raptors defeated Golden State in the NBA Finals. With Kawhi Leonard now with the L.A. Clippers, Siakam will have plenty of shots to prove he’s worth the money.

4-Boston Celtics (48-34) – The Celtics are hitting the reset button this season after the failed Kyrie Irving experiment. Kemba Walker was the team’s big free-agent acquisition and he’ll assume point guard duties for a squad in desperate need of a backcourt leader. Losing Al Horford to the 76ers will hurt more than most people think. Horford was the anchor of the C’s defense and spaced the floor on offense with his ability to pick and pop. Coach Brad Stevens is hoping forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can regain the magic they showed in the playoffs two years ago.

5-Miami Heat (47-35) – After barely missing the playoffs last season, the Heat are back with Jimmy Butler leading the way. Butler reportedly turned down a five-year, max contract offer from the 76ers to move to South Beach and become the new face of the Miami Heat as Dwyane Wade heads into retirement. Jimmy Buckets gives the Heat something they’ve sorely lacked the past couple of years — a bonafide All-Star wing who can close games.

6-Brooklyn Nets (46-36) – Nets fans will have to wait a year before they see Kevin Durant, who is recovering from a devastating Achilles tear. In the meantime, the Nets will lean on newly acquired point god Kyrie Irving along with some solid role players. Young big man Jarrett Allen showed a lot of promise as the team’s stretch 4, who can also play some center. Caris LeVert has the ability to create his own shot, while Joe Harris led the league in 3-point shooting percentage last season.

7-Orlando Magic (44-38) – The Magic were a playoff team a year ago, and this year they’ll be slightly better. Big man Nikola Vucevic agreed to stay with the team by signing a four-year, $100 million deal last June. Vucevic has been overlooked for much of his pro career, but stats show he’s a top-10 center. The 28-year-old center averaged 20.8 points and 12 rebounds last season, both career highs. The growth of the Magic depends on forward Aaron Gordon. If Gordon can make an All-Star leap, the Magic could challenge for homecourt advantage in the first round.

8-Indiana Pacers (43-39) – Indiana Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard expects star guard Victor Oladipo to be out of the lineup until at least December as he recovers from a ruptured quad. “I’m hopeful he’ll be back December or January,” Pritchard said. Oladipo suffered the injury in January and has been progressing slowly. Until Oladipo returns, it’s hard to give the Pacers a full evaluation. With Oladipo, the Pacers are a definite playoff squad. Without him, they’re struggling to stay above .500.

Last teams out: Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards

Kawhi Leonard drives to the basket against Anthony Davis. (Getty Images)

The biggest winner during the NBA offseason was the city of Los Angeles.

Staples Center will be the center of the basketball universe as we enter the 2019-20 NBA regular season because two of the best teams in the league will play 82 times in Downtown Los Angeles.

The pride of Riverside, Calif., Kawhi Leonard chose the glitz and glamour of Hollywood over the cold winters in Toronto (duh!) and he brought another Southern California native, Palmdale’s Paul George, with him. Leonard and George now form a formidable 1-2 punch as members of the L.A. Clippers. Add pitbull guard Patrick Beverley and super subs Lou Williams and Montrez Harrell in the mix and you have a team that is favored to capture the NBA title.

This could be the year the Clippers will finally be able to put up a real banner at Staples Center instead of those giant selfies that hung during the Lob City era.

“Everybody being high character. Sacrifice. Wanting to win. Determination. Knowledge. All that together. Just being on the floor, going out there as one unit. All trying to accomplish that ultimate goal. That’s what drives a championship team,” Leonard said.

LeBron James has been awfully quiet all offseason — outside of a few Taco Tuesday posts on social media. LeBron is so accustomed to playing through June that this was the first offseason where he had a full five months off in more than a decade. And all this waiting has King James extremely anxious.

“I’m very motivated. Right now I’m not in a talking-about-it mode. I’ve been very quiet this summer for a reason,” LeBron said. “My mother always taught me don’t talk about it be about it. That’s where I’m at. As a team and myself, we need to get the Lakers back to where they’ve been accustomed to.”

LeBron appears rested and ready to go, and he now has a super sidekick in All-Star forward Anthony Davis.

The LeBron-AD combo became a reality after the Lakers traded away one-third of their roster. But the Lakers brass feel it was a necessary move because now they feel like they have their best 1-2 punch since Shaq and Kobe.

OneManFastBreak predicts the eight teams that’ll make the playoffs in the Western Conference:

1-L.A. Clippers (58-24) – The Clippers would be a lot higher if it wasn’t for Paul George’s offseason surgery on both his shoulders. The timetable PG’s return is around November. Also, the Clippers are planning to implement the same load management approach the Toronto coaching staff did with Kawhi. It won’t matter much if Kawhi or PG take a few games off. These Clippers are the deepest team in the league. Center Montrezl Harrell brings effort and energy every single night, and combo guard Lou Williams is arguably the best closer in the game. Doc Rivers’ crew will be there in April, May and potentially June.

2-Denver Nuggets (56-26) – Nikola Jokic is now universally recognized as the best center in the NBA. The big man from Serbia is redefining the center position with his ability to score, rebound and pass. Jokic is the anchor of a Nuggets squad that is deep and talented. Point guard Jamal Murray gained some much needed playoff experience last year and ready to become the team’s closer. If Michael Porter Jr., 21, ever gets out of the training room and onto the court, the Nuggets could be battling for the top spot in the West for the next few years.

3-L.A. Lakers (54-28) – The Lakers have five championship-caliber players on the roster: LeBron, AD, Danny Green, Avery Bradley and Kyle Kuzma. To win a title, you need at least seven to eight solid guys in the rotation. For now, the Lakers don’t have that. Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Dwight Howard are extremely limited, and so is JaVale McGee. You can’t trust them in a seven-game series. As long as Davis and LeBron are healthy, the Lakers have a formidable squad. But if one or both miss time, the Lakers are back to being a lottery team. Bringing back Rondo was a mistake. It hinders the progress of Alex Caruso and Quinn Cook.

4-Houston Rockets (53-29) – It is now or never for coach Mike D’Antoni. D’Antoni has his best roster since his Phoenix Suns days, and some could argue it could be better. James Harden is at the height of his powers and there are no signs of him slowing down. In fact, he seems to be getting better and better. The acquisition of Russell Westbrook was panned by critics. Not sure why. Westbrook is a former MVP who is hungry for a title. He and Harden are good friends off the court, and they played together in Oklahoma City. Great players figure out a way to co-exist on the court. Harden and Westbrook will figure out a way to make it work in Houston.

5-Portland Trail Blazers (50-32) – If you still don’t think Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are two of the best guards in the league then you should pull up YouTube videos from the 2019 playoffs. Lillard sent the Thunder home with a dagger 3-pointer from Beaverton, while McCollum was at times the best player on the court during the Blazers-Nuggets series that was an instant classic. The loss of center Jusuf Nurkic was masked with the addition of Hassan Whiteside. If Whiteside can provide rebounds and defense, Lillard and McCollum will take care of the rest.

6-Utah Jazz (49-33) – Donovan Mitchell has been teasing us for the past couple of years with his star potential. It’s time for Mitchell to finally make that big leap and become the true alpha dog. Mitchell has a better supporting cast this season with the acquisition of point guard Mike Conley and sharp-shooting forward Bojan Bogdanovic (the taller Bogdanovic).

7-San Antonio Spurs (48-34) – The Spurs have made the playoffs for 22 straight seasons under Gregg Popovich, and that streak will continue this season. Popovich may have pulled off his best coaching job last year. Pop integrated DeMar DeRozan into the Spurs system and had him play the Manu Ginobili role. LaMarcus Aldridge is doing his best fulfilling the Tim Duncan role. Now, Pop’s next challenge is to develop a point guard to play the Tony Parker role. He’s got a couple of willing students in Derrick White and Dejonte Murray.

8-Golden State Warriors (46-36) – It’s strange seeing the Warriors this low in the postseason seedings, but that’s the harsh reality brought about by the departure of Kevin Durant, the injury to Klay Thompson, the loss of Andre Iguodala and the retirement of Shaun Livingston. The biggest challenge for coach Steve Kerr and his coaching staff will be managing the minutes for Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Will Kerr burn out Curry and Green just to earn a seventh or eighth seed? That’s a tough call for a proud franchise.

Last teams out: Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies