While progress was visible in the two-player game between Damian Lillard And Giannis Antetokounmpo, the performance in Sacramento was much messier. Already, the Bucks have exploded. Then, the two stars, especially the playmaker, were not always fair.
“Dame” finished with 10 points at 2/12 shooting including 1/6 at 3-pts. He hardly took a good shot all evening, either because he was too far away or because he was very well defended by one or more defenders.
“We weren't precise enough on certain points and they got off to an excellent start. We knew that, to avoid transitions and play with rhythm, we had to attack well. So as not to be put in difficulty in defense”, explains the former player from Portland. “We weren’t good offensively. The ball was not traveling. We didn't do what we did well, the extra passes, the screens. We were not good, neither on one side nor the other. »
Giannis Antetokounmpo confirms that Milwaukee's offensive play sometimes lacked rhythm and flow. “We have to move the ball and I know why we couldn’t do it”begins the Greek.
“For example, when there are two-man catches every time in the post, we want to play, we want to have an impact and not just be passive and pass the ball,” describes the 2021 Finals MVP. “There are times when we want to break the hold for two. Sometimes you want it to happen. When they overtake Queen each time, she sometimes keeps the ball, to try to find a solution, to make a difference. That's why. »
Finding the right balance between aggression and accuracy
Having the lucidity and discipline to let go of the ball is the key for Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, because the two-man catches will be numerous in the next matches and again in the playoffs.
“We have to work on it. We will see that again in the next match against Philadelphia and in the next one, and in the playoffs,” warns the double regular season MVP. “We have to beat teams that take double shots in the post or away from the circle. We have to find the right passes, put the players in the right places, find the shooters in the corners. We must be effective regardless of the defense. Did we keep the ball too much in this match? Yes, 100%. And we didn't put in the shots either. »
The Bucks actually shot just 7/39 at 3-points and had a 36% success rate overall. And we know, for Doc Rivers' troops, the attack enormously influences the defense.
” What are we going to do ? We, the leaders? Lady, what is he going to do? And Giannis? Do we give the ball away or do we try to make a difference? “, wonders the interior All-Star. “That’s the difficulty of being the leader of a team. There, the ball didn't circulate enough, maybe in the next match it will be better and we will take shots. It's easy when everyone touches the ball and takes shots, with a ball circulating. This is where it gets easy. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 62 | 35.0 | 61.5 | 29.7 | 66.1 | 2.5 | 8.7 | 11.2 | 6.5 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 30.8 |
| Damian Lillard | 60 | 35.0 | 42.6 | 35.5 | 92.6 | 0.5 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 6.9 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 24.7 |
| 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 |
| Bobby Portis | 65 | 24.0 | 49.8 | 38.0 | 79.4 | 1.6 | 5.5 | 7.1 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 13.2 |
| Brook Lopez | 62 | 31.2 | 47.8 | 35.3 | 82.5 | 1.5 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 12.5 |
| Malik Beasley | 63 | 29.8 | 45.9 | 43.6 | 64.3 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 11.4 |
| Jae Crowder | 34 | 24.2 | 42.3 | 34.5 | 69.2 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 6.2 |
| 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 | 59 | 21.7 | 46.2 | 38.5 | 72.5 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 5.6 |
| Patrick Beverly | 13 | 17.9 | 37.3 | 37.1 | 80.0 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 5.5 |
| Marjon Beauchamp | 45 | 13.1 | 47.7 | 39.4 | 67.9 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 4.3 |
| Aj Green | 42 | 9.6 | 43.3 | 41.0 | 90.9 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 4.3 |
| Andre Jackson, Jr. | 48 | 10.5 | 52.3 | 37.5 | 72.7 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 2.4 |
| 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 |
| Danilo Gallinari | 9 | 9.2 | 27.8 | 11.1 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 1.9 |
| 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 |
| Chris Livingston | 16 | 4.3 | 43.8 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.1 |
| Thanasis Antetokounmpo | 27 | 4.7 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 |
| 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 |
