The Milwaukee Bucks are positioned to carry the top NBA duo in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard this season. Their combined play in their season opener has put some on notice. This season is the second go around for the two stars following an unbalanced and misaligned 2023-24 season. The multiple All-Stars enter this new campaign under heavy scrutiny. However, the win over the 76ers may have indicated a promising year. Giannis and Lillard have the potential to rise to the top of the league as its best star pairing if they’re not already. On Thursday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and the NBA Today crew discussed the matter.
Milwaukee Bucks Might Have The NBA’s Best Duo Per NBA Insider
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst Claims Bucks ‘Not Far Away’
It is fair to point out that the Philadelphia 76ers had neither Joel Embiid nor Paul George in the lineup on Wednesday, which resulted in a 124-109 loss to Milwaukee. While the latter team was also missing a key roster piece in Khris Middleton, their two superstars did indeed play. Giannis and Dame combined for 55 points in the win. They have already shown much better lock-in-step chemistry than they did most of last season. Again, the 76ers were massively shorthanded. Yet, it’s not so much the win or the score that produced some good vibes for the Bucks; it was how Giannis and Dame played off each other—or rather, together. There is also one other element that is playing in their favor right now.
On ESPN’s NBA Today, the panel discussed Milwaukee’s season-opening win with their star duo. Brian Windhorst’s comments alluded to last year versus this year and that other element.
“…they were healthy. When they were on the court together and effective they were difficult to stop. This team is not that far away. Giannis [Antetokounmpo] has played in three playoff games total the last two years; that’s why they’re out.” Windhorst continued, ” I could make a case that they could have gone to three straight finals. They won the finals, Khris Middleton got hurt, they lost in seven to the Celtics. Then Giannis got hurt, they lost to the Heat, a team that went to the finals two years ago. This team [Bucks] is very, very potent if they’re all out there, and they’re still not all out there.”
Windhorst arrives at a logical conclusion regarding injuries as a huge factor in Milwaukee’s playoff troubles of late. How far can a team realistically go when it’s missing a player whose caliber and skill resemble Giannis in consecutive postseasons?
A Full Off-Season Matters
Suppose Giannis and Lillard’s performance against the Sixers two nights ago can continue throughout the season. The Bucks then have every reason to be dominant. Sustained dominance and success are aided by continuity built between players. Both Bucks stars have that now, as pointed out by Windhorts’s NBA Today counterpart, Tim Legler.
“Yeah, look, there’s a rhythm that comes along with great players, and it takes time and they had a full offseason under their belt, they didn’t get that a year ago. That’s different, you get to connect with someone differently, and now going into this season, they know where their inadequacies were a year ago, they can address it…”
Legler would go on to allude to Lillard not ‘referring to this large shadow that Giannis casts.’ This is crucial to Dame’s impact this season if not solely the Bucks. As great as Giannis is, Lillard is the half of the duo that must shine for the team to go deep this season. Middleton’s eventual presence is important; there’s no argument there. However, a Giannis-Lillard element will propel the Bucks much further than a Giannis-Middleton one.
If the duo can keep up what they showcased in game one, it would be a fool’s errand to count the Bucks out of the finals race. Because Brian Windhorst is right on the money, the Bucks are truly not far away.
