Giannis Antetokounmpo issued a strong message about the need to compete following Friday’s 116-94 loss at New York, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. The Bucks are off to a 2-7 start that has them tied for 13th place in the East, and Antetokounmpo wants to see greater urgency from his teammates.
“Did we compete the previous game? Yes,” he said. “Did we compete the two previous games, Cavs and Cavs? Yes. Did we compete today? No. That’s something you can control. If you’re going to go out there and you’re not going to compete, you’re not going to win the game. Sometimes you compete your ass off and you don’t win the game, but at least you give yourself a chance.
“We played great last night. We came to New York, we lost by 30. You gotta compete. Are we OK with not competing? I don’t know. I’m not OK with that s—. So, we gotta do a better job competing. We got Boston in two days. If you don’t compete, you’re going to lose by 30. Simple as that.”
Milwaukee’s only wins this season came Thursday against the 1-7 Jazz and on opening night against a shorthanded Sixers team that’s also off to a 1-7 start. Five of their seven losses have been by double figures, and Friday’s performance was probably the worst so far.
The Knicks set the tone for the game by grabbing five offensive rebounds in the first nine minutes that resulted in 10 points. They wound up out-rebounding the Bucks 48-41 and scored 21 fast break points to Milwaukee’s eight.
Coach Doc Rivers has been making changes in response to the slow start. He replaced Gary Trent Jr. in the starting lineup with Andre Jackson Jr. earlier this week, and Friday he experimented with a new substitution pattern that resulted in Antetokounmpo playing the entire first quarter. Still, the Bucks failed to match the Knicks’ level of effort.
Antetokounmpo’s comments are particularly significant amid growing speculation that the Bucks may eventually have to consider trading him. There’s no indication that the front office is considering a move at this time, but a report Friday indicated that several teams have already called to register their interest.
Defense was formerly the Bucks’ foundation, but this year’s team looks old and slow and struggles to slow down anyone, per Chris Herring of ESPN. He points out that they had no answer Friday for Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 32 points while hitting 4-of-8 shots from beyond the arc and repeatedly drove past Brook Lopez for easy baskets.
The perimeter defensive issues that have plagued the team since trading Jrue Holiday last offseason are still persisting, as Herring notes that Milwaukee ranks 28th in the league in defending pick-and-roll ball handlers.
“We gotta compete,” Antetokounmpo said. “We gotta do a better job competing. At the end of the day coming to New York, playing the way we’re playing, teams will not just give us games. Teams will not feel bad about us and just don’t compete. We have to come out with the mentality that we have to compete for every possession. One possession at a time. Every ball, every loose ball. Whenever the ball is on the floor, we gotta get our body on the floor and try to get that ball. Put our body on the line. We gotta do a better job competing. We didn’t compete at all. That’s the bottom line.”
Gary is gunna lose his mind when Podz is in the Giannis package and Moody isn’t.
Rumor is Giannis does a preferred destination list if he is traded. Brooklyn and Miami. I’d hate to see him get traded but he’s always said he be a Buck as long as they were competing for championships. They better right this shop soon….
Outgoing – Giannis Antetokounmpo
Incoming – Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., 2029 First-Round Pick and 2031 First-Round Pick.
OKC will blow everyone else away and Giannis will happily go. That team would dominate.
I think OKC should keep building as they are. They’re pretty solid and I wouldn’t want to break up what they have. Great coach, great youth, great defense, Caruso trade was smart.
They’re a Western Conference Finals team right now. Giannis would totally disrupt the entire flow of the organization.
I may not be right but I don’t think they should make a move like that.
OKC won’t trade for him, that isn’t what Presti does. They can have 10-15 dominate years. They are not going to blow it up for 2-5 because Giannis already been dealing with injuries. Any deal with OKC would be Chet or Jalen as center pieces. Not worth it, OKC has chemistry which clearly matters as no super teams just win. Boston main pieces were there , Warriors main pieces were there years. OKC also not trading a pick that could be Flagg before a lottery.
Giannis wanted Damian Lillard. Well, now Jrue Holiday is gone. Lillard gives 0% effort on defense and always has.
Giannis wanted Griffin gone. Well, you got someone even worse in Doc Rivers.
Lopez is older and has definitely lost a step. And Bobby Portis is a trainwreck on defense. Plus Middleton is out. But the Bucks did this to themselves. The rumor now is that Jon Horst wanted Kenny Atkinson and ownership wanted Doc Rivers. Maybe too much meddling by ownership and too much listening to Giannis the GM.
They needed creation on offense and Dame was the best available. They thought they had enough defense in Middleton, Lopez, Crowder and Giannis himself. From the sounds of it the whole team wanted Griffin gone and if you lose the locker room then you’re not the right coach.
The mistake wasn’t trading for Dame nor was it firing Griffin. It was firing Budenholzer.
Creation on offense at the huge expense of their defense. Lillard plays less than zero defense. Holliday fit the team better, imo.
And I don’t disagree with the firing of Griffin. I’m more saying be careful what you wish for. They were 30-13 with Griffin regardless of whatever problems they were having. Maybe try and work through them when you have the second best record in the league. Or put a place in place before firing him.
Totally agree on the mistake of firing Bud, though. Crazy that Bud and Atkinson (who the GM wanted but Haslem wanted Rivers) are a combined 19-1 right now.
It goes both ways though. As much as I love Holiday’s game he’s no where near Dame’s level on offense. Middleton and Crowder of four seasons ago could’ve covered for Dame but between Middleton’s injuries and the fact that Crowder just had nothing left in the tank they just couldn’t cover for him last season.
It’s 9 gms ……. chillTF out (2-7)
Bucks healthy easily win 2-3 more games. They lost to Cavs twice by three points. With a depleted team.
Yes it does seem they are showing their age. I’d say a backup C is what they need now. Bucks only need to be healthy for second half. Long way to go.
Can’t count on Middleton being healthy again. The team has been crap since Doc took over. They’re cooked
When I sais trade Middleton after they won and he got hurt again many laughed at the notion.
I see what you’re saying but your Monday Morning Quarterback is clouding your vision. I would say and I could be wrong, that a championship team never or Almost Never trades away a key piece. They almost always run it back. They may add a guy here and there but key contributors usually don’t go anywhere after a championship.
How does Doc Rivers keep getting jobs?
He’s great in interviews and knows how to talk basketball and sell himself. He’s a phenomenal communicator and an elite people person.
During the regular season Doc is fantastic at putting a foundation in place and then relying on assistant coaches for offensive and defensive game plans.
But when the playoffs come around and you have to come up with counter strategies on the Fly, that’s where Doc is not so great. He will get out coached every single time and lose a lot earlier than his regular season record and roster would suggest.
Doc’s system doesn’t matter what players are in it. This roster was 30-13 with the same players before Doc showed up.
This is a tough one for me. I want the Bucks to win, but I’m taking real pleasure in watching Giannis get exactly what he deserves. Unfortunately he’s the 1 guy who will end up in a good situation when they blow the whole thing up.
Just curious, what did Giannis do to “deserve” anything?
Good question. Always seemed like one of the great dudes in the sport.
Giannis pushed for the Lillard trade threatening to leave when he hits FA, the team caved, and now he’s going to leave when he hits FA anyways. Boston getting Jrue in a separate trade made the Bucks instantly regret the move I bet and it keeps getting worse over time.
Gino was obsessed with his chicken nuggets, and oreos, and buying shoes for his gym buddies. We’ll, when you focus more on the trappings than on the game this is what happens. Not complicated. You reap what you soe
@Taco-he was behind a lot of the roster construction..or deconstruction..or let’s just call it a mess. 50/50 at best he wasn’t the deciding vote on canning Bud. We know he wanted Griffin as coach. Now they have Doc, a roster full of aging guys or ones who just don’t fit, and basically nothing in draft capital, and even less in financial flexibility.
He is why the team is in such a mess. He should have to stick it out.
Kuminga,Wiggins, Melton,Podz and picks for Giannis…
Nice, but it won’t happen this year.
And dare I say this is a “nice” idea BEFORE the season started.
Warriors have a very effective roster right now and they are 7-2. Let’s see how this plays out and perhaps the Warriors defense and some of Buddy’s hot shooting can result in a successful first half before the deadline?
These are the same issues that plague every single Doc Rivers team. The roster is definitely not well made either but they have somehow managed to downgrade on coach 2 consecutive times.
Can’t help but wonder where this team would be if Adrian Griffin was still the HC.
Adrian Griffin is not suitable for a head coaching position. He’s probably great x’s and o’s etc. Great basketball mind. But you can’t lose the locker room.
You can’t be a “my way or the highway” type of guy with professional athletes.
This is why Phil Jackson was so successful. Couldn’t coach a lick but he was the best people person the league has ever seen. Tex Winters and John Bach coached those teams. Phil massaged the egos and believed in them, and propelled the players to be the best version of themselves. Zen master 101.
Let’s see if Adrian Griffin gets another shot. I say not for another 5 years because it will take that long to prove he has grasped the finer workings of Human Relationships.
Three whole months of Giannis trade rumors and we don’t have to watch a single game… pure bliss.
It is so enjoyable to watch Doc lose and Coach Bud one. Anyone who thinks Doc Rivers is a NBA coach is stupid idiot.