Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has come under fire from players and NBA fans for his recent failure.
The Bucks were pushed aside by the Miami Heat between 115 and 104 in the first game of their second round playoff series.
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Jimmy Butler set fire to the bucks with 40 points as he led the fifth set Heat to 1-0 lead against the leading Bucks of the Eastern Conference.
After Antetokounmpo received his first DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year) award, questions were asked about how not to guard the dangerous butler on the track.
As he sat answering questions after the loss, the “Greek Freak” was asked why he didn’t have the town to guard Butler.
Antetokounmpo quickly closed the question by announcing that he would do whatever coach Mike Budenholzer tells him to do.
Unfortunately, the answer didn’t go well with the basketball fraternity with current players, analysts, and fans unhappy that the Bucks superstar didn’t raise his hand to take out the opponent’s most harmful player.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was puzzled by the reaction and believes Antetokounmpo has something to prove to his team after his mistakes in Game 1.
“If you’re an elite defender, you’re not putting that responsibility on anyone else,” he said on ESPN’s First Take.
“You do it yourself. The Greek freak didn’t do that last night. It’s not on Budenholzer. That’s on the Greek freak.
“If you have a guy who is about to drop 40, why didn’t you ask to be protected? We don’t want to hear, “Well, you just do what the coach tells you to do.” Of course, you do what the trainer tells you to do.
“But in NBA history we’ve seen stars say, ‘Bump that, that’s what I do.'”
Former All-Star Guard Isaiah Thomas said other star players had told the coach they would accept the assignment.
ESPN’s Tim McMahon noted that a recent All-Star suggested Antetokounmpo shouldn’t be the DPOY because he’s not a shutdown defender.
“An All-Star suggested to me that Giannis Antetokounmpo shouldn’t be Defensive Player of the Year because he’s not a lockdown defender who shuts down other stars. The Bucks clearly need someone to take on this challenge with Jimmy Butler, ”McMahon tweeted.
When the backlash turned to why the Bucks star didn’t switch to Butler, there were many who said the move only caused more problems for the Bucks.
“Could he protect Jimmy Butler? For sure. But once he does that, there won’t be a player on the roster who fills the gaps in the backend like him, ”wrote USA Today’s Mike D. Sykes II.
“That’s what makes the Bucks defense so good.
“So, is it a bad look that Jimmy Butler left? Yes. Do the bucks have to change their game plan? Yes.
“Should it be all about Giannis lifting him 94 feet? Absolutely not. It’s a waste of talent. “
Athletic’s Eric Nehm stated that the Bucks’ defensive structure never ends with Antetokounmpo directly guarding the league’s elite wingers.
“Simply put, Budenholzer has never used Antetokounmpo like that,” he wrote.
“The cases in which Budenholzer Antetokounmpo relies on the league’s elite wings are mostly rare.
“Since his acquisition in Milwaukee, Budenholzer has built his defense on the skills of Eric Bledsoe, Brook Lopez and Antetokounmpo.
“Bledsoe is expected to put pressure on the point guards and push the ball off the 3-point line towards the edge.
“Lopez, who is stationed on the road, is doing his best to hit Bledsoe to weigh defenders in midfield without allowing them to get to the edge.
“Antetokounmpo rounds out the defense by doing everything else.”
The Bucks and Heat will lock the horns in Game 2 on Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. (AEST).
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