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The Milwaukee Bucks experiment of Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo has some concerns; including former Bucks guard Jeff Teague. He spent the 2021 season in Milwaukee with Antetokounmpo and his former teammate, Jrue Holiday. When the Bucks acquired Lillard, it was a shock on all fronts.
However, both guards play drastically differently. Holiday is someone who will do the dirty work. He'll guard the best offensive player on the other team, set screens, and play physically. On the other hand, Lillard is more savvy offensively but needs the ball in his hands. He'll establish pick-and-rolls about as great as anyone, not to mention his shooting. Still, Teague discussed on the Club 520 Podcast the potential mistake of pairing the new Milwaukee duo together.
“Speaking from experience, I love Giannis (Antetokounmpo) as a player and I think he’s a great player but as a point guard, that’s a tough job,” Teague said. “What made Jrue Holiday so special to play with Giannis was Jrue can play any position. So if you go tell Jrue right now ‘set a screen and roll', you don’t ever see point guards doing that. Jrue will go set a screen on the ball right now with Jayson Tatum and roll in the gap and they hit him and he’ll play like a big.”
Pros and cons of the Bucks' Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo pairing
Holiday did so much of the dirty work defensively. Fast forward to him being traded to the Boston Celtics, and Holiday did what he usually does. However, the Celtics couldn't believe it. Even Jayson Tatum savagely reminded the Bucks about trading away their former point guard. As a result, Boston won the title, and Milwaukee was eliminated in the first round. Teague went into more detail about how the two current Bucks stars play too like each other.
“So, he (Holiday) was like a Swiss Army Knife when it came to a point guard,” Teague said. “Dame is a real point guard, I need the ball to initiate the offense. Giannis is a 6’10 point guard. He needs the ball to initiate the offense. So that combination of the two is kind of weird.
“They’re going to have games like this just because they’re so good where they get 30 points and Giannis gets 30 points. Just because they’re top 75 players they’re going to do that but the combination of the two just doesn’t fit well. Giannis needs like a Jrue Holiday.”
The Bucks are 1-3 on the year, with their sole win coming against an injury-riddled Philadelphia 76ers squad. If the two stars can mesh, it could be a problem for their opponents. If not, it could be another disappointing season.
