For the Bucks to achieve their dual goals of reaching the playoffs and keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo happy enough to avoid a trade demand, they can’t afford many more losses like the one they had Wednesday night against Washington. As Eric Nehm of The Athletic details, Milwaukee couldn’t hold on to a three-point lead with 33.2 seconds remaining as CJ McCollum hit two late shots and Antetokounmpo’s last-second attempt bounced off the back of the rim.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said his team didn’t deserve to come away with a victory over the Wizards, who now have two of their eight wins against Milwaukee. He cited a lack of sustained effort by his players and a reluctance to share the ball.
“We had a lead. We had every shot we wanted at the end of the game,” Rivers said. “Our execution was flawless, even the last play. But the basketball gods sometimes don’t allow you to win when you don’t play right, and we’ve been great the last two games, and tonight, we didn’t pass the ball. We didn’t pass the ball to each other, and we didn’t guard the ball. And so when you play like that, you lose the game.”
Antetokounmpo told reporters Wednesday night that his conditioning and rhythm still aren’t where he wants them to be after missing eight games with a strained right calf. He remains on a minutes restriction but led the team with 33 points and 15 rebounds against Washington while playing 28 minutes.
Antetokounmpo added a comment indicating that he believes all his teammates may not share a similar commitment to winning.
“Sometimes, it’s just hard when maybe some people are trying to do the right thing, and other people are not trying to do the plays. It might be discouraging at times,” he said. “I’ve been a part of teams, the really good teams, that two, three, four guys try to do the right thing, and they do it, I think, and they pull everybody else. And I’ve been on teams that two, three guys try to do the right thing, and three, four guys not trying to do the right thing, and it pulls the team to the wrong direction.”
At 14-20, the Bucks start the new year in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. They’re just one-and-a-half games behind Atlanta and two-and-a-half games back of Chicago, so a spot in the play-in tournament remains within reach. However, they would need an incredible second half of the season to rise any higher than ninth place.
Nehm points out that a very challenging part of the schedule is about to begin. After hosting Charlotte on Friday, Milwaukee departs on a four-game Western swing to face the Kings, Warriors, Lakers and Nuggets. Eight of the team’s 13 January games are on the road, so the Bucks could be in a much different position when the February 5 trade deadline arrives.
“We’re 11th in the East,” Antetokounmpo said. “My whole career, when I’ve had winning seasons, like January to February before the break, you gotta stack up wins, and we have a tough schedule. I don’t think people understand this can make us or break us. And I don’t want to break. I want to be made.”
Ut oh.., Giannas, starting to throw his teammates under the bus?
Knicks better get on the phone and make something happen with three other teams and land of their man.
So over Gianna’s. Bottom line you won one championship. Let’s stop giving these one time winners Shaq and Kobe treatment. To be top 10 you need multiple championships. Gianna’s has one Chip and honestly on one run for a championship. He hasn’t even been to the conference finals but once or twice. The end of his career is not going to look pretty in 3 years. His play style not post up game and no jumpers will have a quick fall off. New York for Kat and picks is the only winnable option I see. I’m not sure if they give up OG they are still winners
Do they have any picks left.
He was injured one yr for playoffs. Then two yrs his other star was injured for playoffs. Gotta be healthy if you want to compete.
The best ability is availability. I don’t want to hear about injuries or would have should have could have. You either are or you ain’t that’s the bottom line. Doesn’t matter if he’s hurt or not. He only has one championship and they talk as if they’ve won multiple championships as if they’re magic or Larry or any of these other players. They’re not me multiple championships to be talking the way he’s talking
100 percent. Make sure you say the same thing with Jokic too
If a player doesn’t play. Doesn’t matter what you think. You can hate all you want. Its not his doing.
If Cavs were healthy last year. You never hear of the Pacers. And Haliburton is playing now. The truth is always significant in competition.
How is that hating I actually like Giannis as a player. If you actually read my post, you can separate what you feel about a player and how a player feels entitled. Giannis is entitled he is the reason why his team is in the position they are. If you’ve never played meaningful basketball, you won’t know. There’s more to a team than just the ball going up in the air and you putting the ball in the hoop. There’s coaching. There’s training when teams are and players are adding players Brothers to teams that have no business being on the team or not. NBA players or professional players whether it’s overseas or college ball, whatever it affects the team. Giannis, as I said before, has won championship has One conference final. So honestly he doesn’t even have this crazy legacy that is like he keeps losing in the conference finals or in the NBA finals. He’s not even getting there, which means he’s only had one good stretch and his entire career. A spade is a spade. If you’re hurt, you’re hurt. You can’t be the greatest if you’re hurt. If that was so honestly, Bill Walton would be one of the top three or four big men of all time cuz he was that good but he was hurt so he’s not
Hating is not recognizing his work to get there. The teams work to get there. The road to a Title is a long one. It’s four rounds. We are talking about getting hurt in playoffs or for playoffs NOT the season. I don’t think you understand what getting to playoffs mean. You can’t put that on a player. That is the Universe stepping in.
You think Warrior fans don’t remember Steph getting hurt for TWolves last yr. And you keep talking about him. This is a team game. No team can win a chip losing their best player. Acting like it doesn’t mean anything. Is disrespectful to the game and to the player. Only one team wins. To win you need EVERYONE ….i’m not telling you who to like. A team is not a full team when they are missing a starter. You don’t put blame on that. You acknowledge it. No one is telling you to like Giannis.
Steph is 5000 years old in basketball years. Giannis is in his pride. Apples and oranges and your creating an narrative and using it the way that you want to use it. Nobody said Giannis is not a good player. We didn’t say he doesn’t work hard. If you read my post I said would separate you in the next next level that he’s trying to get you is multiple championships. All the people who have won multiple championships have delt with injuries, sorry teams. So the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers is any of giannis’s teams better than that? Answer is yes they are. However the difference is A.I push this team to a championship just like many other teams that have dealt with injuries and dealt with players going down. You keep creating a narrative saying no one’s telling you to like Giannis when upset three or four times that I think Giannis is an exceptional player and I think he played defense. Now I wish he has a post-up game so he get played a lot longer and I wish you did hit a jump shot but as far as of what he does there’s nobody who does it better. I can say all that and still say he’s only won one championship and only going to one conference final so therefore the leap of the elite. He’s not in that when we’re talking about the greatest of all time. If you just come back with more hating a more blah blah blah, there’s no need to respond because you like hearing your own words and you think you’re the smartest person in the room. Stop deflecting
I’m not arguing with you. You really don’t get it. Balling is about showing up not availability. Being hurt FOR playoffs is just that. Means your team is down a player. Get updated lol. Giannis is the greatest 4 ever Even if he doesn’t win another Title. Got nothing to do with age. Get back on point
Then you don’t know ball. Health is apart of your career and resume. We don’t say what would have happened had this player played. We say they played in they won. Giannis is definitely not the greatest power forward of all time. He’s maybe not even in front of Dirk. Diff not in front of Duncan or Garnett. In Karl Malone and Charles Barkley’s had more success. Maybe not the one championship but outside of the championship and outside of MJ they have gone to more finals and more conference finals than Giannis has. However I do put him over Barkley and maybe just over Malone. Definitely not over Duncan kg or Dirk.
Yeah you want to go there.
What part of team ball don’t you understand. A team can’t win a playoff series without one of their starters. Its a simple thing. Why are you bouncing around like a loose ball. That has nothing to do with Giannis. If you can’t acknowledge that a player is crucial to team winning in the playoffs. Then you are lying to yourself. No one is saying they would win. Just acknowledging the truth. Not acknowledging that is lying. And holding him accountable for it is hating. You think he timed his injury.
You don’t trash a player cause he got hurt. What is so hard to understand …..
This is how lost you sre ……
Barkley played 16 yrs.
Giannis is in his 13th year.
By the time Giannis is finished. He will have every offensive category and defensive category over Barkley. Giannis is in the conversation for GREATEST 2Way player ever. Slow your roll.
I just made a point about missing playoff games. You can’t grasp that. I live in truth. Not only just the stuff I care about.
See Al your doing it again and that works on people who’ve never play ball or don’t know ball but that ain’t going to work on me bro. You don’t read you pick whatever little arguments you want and then you make yourself feel good about what you said. Again, go back and read my comment because reading comprehension must not be your best suit or you just are picking your own arguments so you can sound smarter than what you are. I said Giannis is better than Barkley.
If you think a team or a player can not win a playoff series with one player down then you pretty much haven’t been watching basketball for the last 20, 30, 40 years. Every year teams are missing players and they hold on to the next series. Can you win a championship? No but Giannis has been the one who’s been out so that’s on him. If you can’t get it done with a team that you have I don’t want to hear anymore excuses. Now go on and reply. I’m done with this argument cuz I know you want to have the last word
Giannis is a DPOTY, MVP, Finals MVP, multiple times all defensive and all NBA with a chip. Giannis will be fine, he didn’t have a Kobe.
Kobe didn’t have a Kobe when he won his two championships. Kobe Bryant isn’t the legend. He is until he won his two championships on his own. I’m tired of y’all coming on here. Acting like we’re discreting MVPs one championships, different things like that. He is now moving into a different bracket and so we’re judging him in the elite bracket now. Nice that you got MVPs. It’s nice that you got defensive player of the years. But now if you want to submit your name among those greats you need multiple championships. Bottom line
I’m not taking nothing from Kobe but Kobe didn’t win anything on his own. Kobe didn’t have a Kobe but he had an in his prime Hall of Famer for all 5 of his championships. He had Shaq for the first three and Gasol for the last two.
Gasol is Julius Randall actually, let’s be honest. Julius Randall one more as the man and his team then Paul gasol did. Do you want to know Paul gasol’s playoff record outside of Kobe Bryant? He’s 0 for eight, which means he literally got swept twice in the playoffs. In the first round he didn’t win a game. Gasol is a low level all star and Kobe beat a team better than his in the finals. Bottom line, he was the best player.
I’m not taking anything away from Giannis. He won a championship. The problem is is Giannis has only been to one conference finals in his entire career and that was the year he won a championship so he hasn’t actually dominated the NBA at all. Again, he’s way better than the Carmelo Anthony’s. He’s way better than a lot of other players that we have mention that are Legends. But now we’re talking about the top 15 players of all time and he’s not there yet. You need multiple championships to enter those conversations and especially to get into the top 10 conversation. There’s not one player in the top 10 that only has one championship. Hakeem Elijah Juan dominated by winning two championships. Didn’t have a Drew holiday or a Kris Middleton on his team.
The point in my post was saying Giannis is doing a lot of complaining wanting his brothers on his teams asking for this player asking for that player and for me as much as I can’t stand LeBron he is top seven NBA player of all time so those type of players if they want to ask for certain things they can. If you win multiple championships you can. You won one championship. You’re not in the bracket to be demanding and doing all this stuff because you wouldn’t want championship.
He had Jrue Holiday and Kris Middleton in their primes. During that championship run Middleton was pretty darned close to Kobe when Kobe was running with Shaq.
Giannis to the Warriors steps closer and closer…
Put the drink down Lil bro
Lol Davey for what package? I’d dare say get a better package elsewhere. Not even close.
Dunleavy has already said he is going to make a huge trade, $15 million range. Besides, his focus is on the end of next season.
Spurs ————- Spurs……
Thunder or Spurs can trade for him. And it wouldn’t even set them back in any way. Hawks, Raptors, Heat could sneak in there. If I’m Spurs. I definitely go get him.
Feels like Dame part 2
We just need Grant to change zip codes now to flatten the circle ⭕️
“The best ability is availability. I don’t want to hear about injuries or would have should have could have. You either are or you ain’t that’s the bottom line. Doesn’t matter if he’s hurt or not. He only has one chip”
These are your WORDS @ Buying buckets —-
This is hating when you don’t acknowledge he was hurt for the playoffs. When you don’t acknowledge Middleton was hurt for two playoffs and even Dame hurt for one. Doesn’t mean he wins another. It shows respect. You understand that. Giannis is maybe the greatest PF who ever lived. He doesn’t need your or my support. He changed that position. Only fans think chips is some kind of indication of greatness. Winning is not an individual accomplishment. This is a team game. Only teams win Chips …… and to win one. You need your whole team.
If Giannis wants to move in-season, then the NYK need to take a hard pass. The core of this team finally has a full year under its belt together (something normally required for a newly assembled group to peak). Breaking up that team now (and it’s naive to think the NYK could pull off a Giannis trade without doing that) means we’ve wasted the past year and a half, as – even if we look better on paper – we’ll most likely revert back to being a WIP for the next year or so. Our core is made up of younger veterans, but not kids. At some point, they’ll get old or bored.
If Leon Rose really thinks it’s a good idea to continually reset the roster, from the prior reset of it, every time a star greater than the ones he has becomes available, then he should play 2k, or, even more so, join a fantasy league. Building a team there might just be about accumulating aggregate talent. Building a real team isn’t.
Once the season is over, it’s a different situation.
I’m not the one bringing up players or stats that have nothing to do with him missing playoff games. Dude I got no argument. I only pointing out being hurt means he doesn’t get the chance to compete. Your the one arguing that. What does Barkley or him not winning another chip have to do with his greatness. I only mentioned ONE thing. I mentioned it about Curry. I’ll mention it about any player who is out for a playoff run. To you its insignificant. To me it will never be.
Losing 2 games to the Wiz and getting blown out by Brooklyn…
Doc River’s coaching has been poor. Even when they started the season well, you could see it wasn’t sustainable.