Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was unhappy, to say the least, after his team lost again on Friday night. It was their fifth double-digit defeat—116-94 to the New York Knicks. Six Knick’s players put up double-digit points of their own, while only Giannis and Damian Lillard cracked ten-plus for the Bucks. It was another dismal letdown to a dismal season in the making. But while the Bucks are trying to figure out what it’ll take for that illusive spark to churn the fire, Giannis took his own approach, and it was fire.
Bucks Superstar Rains Greek God-Like Fury Upon Teammates
Bucks Superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo Speaks His Mind
Sometimes, you just need a metaphorical throat punch to flip the switch. That could be what the Greek Freak attempted to do when speaking with the media following the Bucks 22-point shellacking at the hands of the Knicks. It was Milwaukee’s seventh season loss following their second win the night before over the Utah Jazz. The hope was one win would lead to another and another, and then, before you knew it, a string of wins to get the season back on track. Nope.
Following the loss to the Knicks, Giannis once again faced reporters to explain the reasons for another dropped game. While some irritation could already be sensed in his previous postgame media sessions, this time around, there was a different level of heat. One word that Giannis mentioned over and over again was the word “compete.”
“Did we compete the previous game? Yes. Did we compete the two previous games? Cavs and Cavs? Yes. Did we compete today? No. It’s something that 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 but you don’t win the game but at least give yourself a chance.” Antetokounmpo continued, “We came to New York, we played great last night. We came to New York we lost by 30. We don’t compete. Are you OK with not competing? I don’t know. I’m not OK with that s—. We gotta do a better job of competing. We’ve got Boston in two days. We don’t compete, we’re going to lose by 30, simple as that.”
Whose Going To Step Up?
Not Khris Middleton, we know that. If the Bucks are waiting on their injured star to save them, they best re-think their pathway out of this hole they’re living in. Getting Middleton back will help to a degree, yes. However, there has to be a deeper issue here than simply roster personnel. If Giannis pegs compete as that underlying issue, then I believe him. He is balling out this season despite the Bucks record. He’s currently third in scoring, averaging 30.1 PPG behind only Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis. He’s also scoring buckets at 60.5% from the field, with 12.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists. If Milwaukee’s record were better, these would be recognized as early MVP-esque numbers.
So, the question is, where or who will ignite the spark Milwaukee desperately needs? They can’t change the coach again, or can they? According to NBA senior insider Brian Windhorst, the Bucks are rumored to be searching for a trade.
“The Bucks are doing something that we don’t see very often, which is scouring the trade market in the first week of November. As I was talking to teams this week, they were like, ‘The Bucks just called. The Bucks just called.'”
Whatever the Bucks do in the coming weeks, there is no easy way out. They’re in a hole, and the only rope available to climb out is on the backs and shoulders of each other, one game at a time, one win at a time. As Giannis said, Milwaukee’s next test is at home against the Boston Celtics. They should start there.
