The visual impression is reminiscent of a LeBron James or a Shaquille O’Neal. When Giannis Antetokounmpo decides to take a match on his own, the opponents bend physically. They are behind on the defensive withdrawal, and when the “Greek Freak” enters the paint, there is only one solution left to stop him: grab his arms. This is what the Bulls experienced last night, overwhelmed by a Greek wave in the last quarter.
“Giannis changed the course of the match”summarizes Doc Rivers, after the Bucks’ victory. “Because he started attacking the racket and showed how resilient he is. The greatest players have no memory, clearly. They don’t have any. They may miss, but they continue to play, because they know they are great players and they have worked for it. »
Before planting 19 of his 41 points in the last eight minutes of the match, Giannis had not been really exceptional. A missed dunk here, a lay-up there… Before returning to the game, the Greek was 9 out of 22 on shots, and then he let go, and as his coach explains, he had forgotten his initial clumsiness.
“Good teams don’t lose two games in a row”
“I just missed some shots and that’s part of the game,” recalls Giannis Antetokounmpo. “We’re not going to hit all our shots and these are shots that I usually hit. And that’s exactly what makes you doubt a little more, when you miss shots that you usually take… Usually, when things aren’t going well or my shots aren’t going in, I tend to be a little less aggressive and try to influence the game in other ways – in defense or by circulating the ball – but today I said to myself no, I’m going to continue to stay aggressive because I know that I can get my positions. »
Upon arrival, the Bucks dominated the Bulls and remained undefeated in the group stage since the creation of the NBA Cup. According to Giannis Antetokounmpo, the team has set itself a goal this season: not to lose two games in a row. And no matter the conditions.
“This season, no more excuses! It’s easy for us to say: ‘Oh, it’s a back-to-back, we arrived at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m…. It’s hard, we played a difficult match the day before against a team that plays fast, blah blah blah…’ No, no and no! Good teams don’t lose two games in a row. One by one, match after match… We have to approach it like a series of five matches: can we win five in a row? If this is not the case, we start from scratch. This is the state of mind we have at the moment. We are a very, very good team. We played very good basketball, except for one match against Toronto. »
