It was obviously time for the All-Star Weekend break to arrive for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks star displayed his moods in a long interview given at The Athletic faced with the difficulties of its franchise, in free fall in recent weeks.
The arrival of Doc Rivers has so far not had the desired effect with only three victories in ten matches. Changes, more changes: the “Greek Freak” is starting to have enough.
“ It's difficult because of all these changes, all these injuries, all these things… A lot of things, at all levels. In our game plan, our structure, all this bullshit… It starts with the damn owners, who have changed. Coaching, change. Another coach, more change. The stars of the squad, of change. Khris Middleton being here then not anymore… So much bullshit. »
Very angry, as rarely expressed in the past, the double MVP nevertheless categorically refuses to feel sorry for himself and his team. On the contrary, he sends a message to his teammates and calls for a change of attitude. “ We have to stay together, I don't like to victimize myself. This is not who I am. I don't want to look back and say, 'Damn, I had great teams and I couldn't get through the hardest part.' We need to stop beating ourselves up. I'm tired of this. Nothing will be given to us. We have to go and get him. I played with guys who never felt sorry for themselves. They came, they did their job, they went home, and so on. This is what we have to do. We're not doing it right now, but I hope we get there. »
Don't feel sorry for yourself
The Bucks are going through a bad patch, alternating between encouraging performances and big disappointments. The latest one before the All-Star Game, among the featherless Grizzlies, looks like a last straw if Giannis Antetokounmpo is to be believed. “ This drives me crazy, I'm not going to lie to you. Against Denver (a 112-95 victory on February 13, editor's note), I told myself that something was being built. Behind against Miami, I was terribly bad“, after a humiliating defeat against the Heat despite being deprived of Jimmy Butler.
This year, the Greek explains that more than ever he had to take the role of vocal leader, and set an example, by expressing himself more in video sessions, or in training to refocus his team.
Everything he didn't need to do in recent seasons, within the Bucks, one of the best-oiled teams in the NBA, with the title in 2021 at stake. But the fiasco in the first round last season against the Heat left traces that take time to fade, to the point that Giannis Antetokounmpo felt he had to take matters into his own hands. And that he is not unhappy to also rely on his new coach Doc Rivers.
“ I had to push everyone, the staff, my teammates… […] Now it's almost like I don't have to do it anymore. » Giannis Antetokounmpo assures that despite an unflattering sporting record so far, the former technician of the Celtics, the Clippers or even the Sixers brings “peace of mind” and the leadership that liberates him. “ He is hard. It's Doc, fucking Rivers. He knows what he's doing. »
A strong back-to-back as a recovery
“ We must continue to evolve » continues Giannis Antetokounmpo, while qualifying his remarks. “ We must not change our identity. Of course, we have to be better and stronger. I have to play better, feel the game better. But we have to continue to evolve. We have to add Doc's philosophy with what has already worked for us, and hope to create a good combination for the next 25 games and be competitive for the playoffs. »
The Bucks no longer have time to procrastinate anyway. Dispossessed by Cleveland of second place in the Eastern Conference, and a possible home field advantage in the conference semi-finals, Milwaukee (35 wins – 21 losses) will return to competition by hosting Minnesota then Philadelphia.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 54 | 35.0 | 61.6 | 25.5 | 65.3 | 2.5 | 8.7 | 11.2 | 6.4 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 30.8 |
| Damian Lillard | 51 | 34.9 | 42.3 | 34.1 | 92.5 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 6.7 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 24.6 |
| Khris Middleton | 43 | 26.3 | 48.7 | 37.8 | 83.2 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 14.8 |
| Brook Lopez | 53 | 31.5 | 48.3 | 34.2 | 83.5 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 13.0 |
| Bobby Portis | 56 | 24.0 | 49.4 | 38.5 | 79.1 | 1.6 | 5.3 | 6.9 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 12.7 |
| Malik Beasley | 54 | 29.5 | 46.8 | 44.4 | 64.0 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 11.4 |
| Jae Crowder | 25 | 24.7 | 44.0 | 37.0 | 66.7 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 7.0 |
| Cameron Payne | 47 | 14.9 | 45.5 | 39.7 | 84.1 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 6.2 |
| Pat Connaughton | 50 | 21.3 | 45.6 | 38.5 | 69.0 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 5.2 |
| Marjon Beauchamp | 40 | 14.2 | 47.7 | 39.1 | 67.9 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 4.7 |
| Aj Green | 36 | 9.3 | 43.0 | 41.5 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 4.3 |
| Patrick Beverly | 4 | 14.6 | 29.4 | 40.0 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 3.8 |
| Andre Jackson, Jr. | 45 | 11.0 | 52.3 | 37.5 | 72.7 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 2.5 |
| Lindell Wigginton | 3 | 2.5 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.0 |
| Chris Livingston | 15 | 4.1 | 50.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| Robin Lopez | 16 | 4.0 | 36.8 | 25.0 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| Thanasis Antetokounmpo | 23 | 4.6 | 52.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
| Tyty Washington, Jr. | 5 | 4.1 | 14.3 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Bolden Brands | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
