MILWAUKEE — After Monday’s game against the Heat, Giannis Antetokounmpo took the stage in Jim Paschke’s interview room at Fiserv Forum and slammed two green fists on the table.
“What do we have?” Antetokounmpo asked the assembled media in a deep voice, dressed in an Incredible Hulk costume. “Don’t be afraid, come on.”
Fortunately, the Milwaukee Bucks had beaten the Miami Heat, 122-114, and Antetokounmpo contributed 33 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes because reporters might not have liked Antetokounmpo if he had been angry. For a few brief moments, it looked like the Bucks were going to spoil the fun by letting the Heat get back into the game after Milwaukee led by as many as 25 points early in the fourth quarter. Eventually, the Bucks closed the door, allowing Antetokounmpo to have some fun after the game.
Antetokounmpo – while wearing the Hulk costume to the delight of his children, who were in the back of the interview room – seriously shattered the team’s second win of the season, including a development which particularly pleased the Greek Goliath of the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo has his chance on Butler
The Bucks and Heat have quite the playoff history over the past four seasons.
In 2020, after the Bucks assembled the NBATheir best record in the regular season, the Heat eliminated them from the playoffs (and the NBA bubble) in a second-round loss. In 2021, the Bucks swept the Heat in the first round en route to the franchise’s second championship. Last season, the eighth-seeded Heat upset Milwaukee in the first round, ultimately leading to the ouster of head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Throughout this period, the Bucks have always had Antetokounmpo on their roster and Jimmy Butler was with the Heat. And a major storyline over the course of three series: “Is Antetokounmpo covering Butler?”
In 2020, Antetokounmpo did it. Instead, Budenholzer opted to let Antetokounmpo serve as a roving defender and helper, where he watched Butler put up a 40-point masterpiece in Game 1. To close out the game, Butler made the final six shots he made in the final six minutes and Antetokounmpo was the player who took the ball out of the basket on all six shots.
In 2021, Budenholzer changed its strategy and put Antetokounmpo on Butler to open the series. The Heat forward never got going and the Bucks swept the series to advance to the second round.
Last season, Budenholzer put Jrue Vacations on Butler, but the whole series changed once Antetokounmpo went down in the first quarter of Game 1 when Kevin Love attempted to take a charge on an Antetokounmpo drive. He ended up playing Games 4 and 5, but he was less than 100% and the Bucks lost in five games.
On Monday, Bucks coach Adrian Griffin wasted no time revealing his thoughts on the matter as Antetokounmpo took on Butler on the first tip. And after Thomas Bryant After winning the Heat tip, Antetokounmpo wasted no time in announcing his presence.
He stalked Butler to the left block and pushed him out of his spot as Bryant moved toward Antetokounmpo to set a screen. When Butler caught the ball a few yards behind the 3-point line at midcourt, Antetokounmpo leaned against Butler chest to chest. And after Butler threw the ball to Love on the right wing, Antetokounmpo stayed connected to Butler and they engaged in a bit of hand fighting, like a wide receiver and a cornerback in media coverage, until for Love to miss the first shot of the match.
“I felt good. I think I did a good job at times,” Antetokounmpo said. “Obviously I tried to make it as difficult as possible for him. And not just him, the one I’m trying to protect. This will only make me better and make the team better. Sometimes I have to guard the best player. Sometimes I have to put my feet down, slide from side to side, contest every shot. Like I to have to do this. I have to kind of push him out of position. Sometimes I have to play – not dirty – but I have to be physical.
Clearly, Antetokounmpo wasn’t the only player covering Butler, as neither coach went out of his way to synchronize their star player’s minutes with another in a regular season game. But Antetokounmpo’s defense helped set the tone for Butler, who finished with just 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting and four assists in 29 minutes.
“I feel like I was, at times, protected,” Antetokounmpo said. “I think like a lot of players in the league, when you have the superstar, the best player, they kind of like to protect them. They put them at guard as a guy who’s not very aggressive, so he doesn’t have problems, he doesn’t waste his energy on defense. But for me, I believe I’m one of the best two-way players to ever play this game and I want to take on that challenge.
“And sometimes I’m not going to be good and sometimes I’m going to be good for my team. But ultimately, I can’t – I don’t feel like I can run away from the challenge and just see. Obviously my teammates, they’re amazing, they can also guard, they can also move their feet, but you want to be able to go home and know that you gave everything to the game and you gave everything to stop the other guy’s best team. player.”
Just three games into the season, Griffin hasn’t hesitated to give Antetokounmpo tough assignments. After leading by nine points at halftime on opening night against Philadelphia 76ersthe Bucks saw their lead cut to two in the first four minutes of the second half as Joel Embiid scored eight quick points to start the third quarter.
After a timeout, Griffin took Brook Lopez off Embiid and moved Antetokounmpo to the 76ers’ superstar center. On the first possession defending Embiid, Antetokounmpo stole the ball from him and went the other way for a dunk. On the next possession, he committed an offensive foul on Embiid, his fourth personal.
“For me this year, in the first game, I had a chance to guard Embiid for a few possessions, which I loved. I don’t remember the last time I kept it, it was about four years ago (ago). And today I had the challenge of keeping Jimmy after three years. The last time I guarded him was in the 2021 playoffs in the first round.
“I’m happy. I’m happy that the coach is allowing me to take on this challenge and I hope I can be good for my teammates.
Portis and the bench crowd bring the energy
The Bucks and Heat were tied at 28 after one quarter. On the second night of a row, the Bucks needed a spark to pull away and Bobby Portis was ready for the moment. After Cam Payne hit a 3 to open the quarter, Portis singled Tyler Herro‘s dribble and ran to the other end for a layup.
Less than a minute later, Portis put Orlando Robinson into a blender with a fake spin move that froze the Heat’s big man and freed Portis for a right hook off the glass.
The quick 7-0 run forced Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to call a timeout as the crowd erupted in a “Bobby!” » chanted as both teams headed towards their respective benches.
“Bobby, he just changed the game with his energy,” Griffin said. “Accelerating guys with his pressure on the ball, getting deflections, getting turnovers, grabbing rebounds, pushing each other and playing for each other. I mean, he was everywhere and that’s what we needed from him coming off the bench. When he plays like that we are a very difficult team to beat.
Portis finished the night with 16 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes. In three games under Griffin, Portis played fewer minutes – 19.7 minutes per game this season compared to 26 minutes per game last season – than under Budenholzer, but he had even more impact, posting the best per minute stats (23.2 points). , 11 rebounds and 3.7 assists per 36 minutes) of his career.
On Monday, however, it wasn’t just Portis who made the difference off the bench. Payne made three of his four 3-point attempts to reach 11 points on the night and Jae Crowder And Pat Connaughton each contributed eight points to bring the bench’s total to 43 points.
“I thought our entire bench was phenomenal, just their focus and intensity,” Griffin said. “Cam came in and hit some big shots. Jae was strong, as always. PC, just veteran leadership, still strong. So it was definitely a total team victory.
(Photo by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler and Khris Middleton: Benny Sieu / USA Today)
