Not a week goes by without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard are not questioned about their duo. On paper, it is difficult to find a more explosive and productive tandem with two “franchise players” associated to bring the Bucks back to the top. But automatisms take time, and like the “Big Three” of the Heat in 2010, it takes months, even a season, before being accomplices on the field.
“We have a good relationship and we talk to each other all the time. Relationships take time, and you have to get through it” reassures Damian Lillard, interviewed in Sports Illustrated. “It was the same with Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum. It was progressive. (…) Because we are stars and we have to be able to work together, everyone says: 'We want you to be best friends right away'.
Except that a friendship, or a bond, is not created in a few weeks, and Damian Lillard, like Giannis Antetokounmpo, need to know each other better off the field to shine on the floors.
Automations that take time
“The reality is, you don’t become my best friend in three weeks. That will take time. Because I want to know who you really are. When I do something you don't like, how will you respect me and respond to me? And when I have difficulties, how will you act? And when I flourish? That's how friends act: when you're struggling, I know who you really are and what you're capable of, and I believe in it. That's how you really develop this stuff. »
For Damian Lillard, the most important thing is that there is a common desire for it to work, and Giannis is there to guide his new teammate. “We both want this to work. And in this situation, I'm the new guy. I think if he came to Portland he would be in the same process. I would be comfortable and I would know what's going on, and he would be the one trying to figure it out, and it would be the same process. »
On the field side, same process and same patience. For Damian Lillard, the example to follow is in Denver.
“I always take the Jokic – Murray duo as an example, but they played together for six or seven years. They don't even think about it anymore. But at first they struggled. Jokic had his moments, then Jamal Murray was struggling, then he had his moments, then it took him time. Once they figured it out, they won. »
For Damian Lillard, it therefore makes sense that he and Giannis go through ups and downs, and that they are not necessarily successful at the same time.
“We both need to continue to put in the time and get to know each other. Then we both have to be willing to go to war for each other. Sometimes you have to give up something for each other. He had a 60-point game and I said to myself: 'It's not my night.' »
