Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo knows he will have to do more than what he mustered in Game 3 to steal a game on the road in Tuesday's Game 4 against the Toronto Raptors. Antetokounmpo is aware head coach Mike Budenholzer wants him to be more aggressive and keep the Raptors on their heels with his drives to the rim and his relentless pursuit of the ball, and he agrees with the assessment:
“What I gotta do is be way more aggressive,” Antetokounmpo told Eric Nehm of The Athletic after the game, which rang consistent with his coach's wishes. “I gotta go way more downhill. I think, at times, I think I was probably a half-a-second late in responding. Usually, when I get the ball, I’m driving it immediately or I’m taking my time and the defense is going fast. I think I was like a second late.”
Antetokounmpo argued he would plan to flip the script, bringing it to Kawhi Leonard, as the latter did against him to pull off a double-overtime win on Sunday night:
“In Game 4, if they have Kawhi on me, I gotta make him defend,” said Antetokounmpo. “If he guards me, he’s gotta work. I gotta make him work as much as possible so he can spend a lot of energy defensively, so he’s not as effective offensively.”
Leonard was bothered by a leg injury, favoring his right leg throughout the rest of the contest. This could be an advantage The Greek Freak could exploit, with less than 48 hours of recovery between one game and the next.
Antetokounmpo grabbed a game-high 23 rebounds in the loss, but only scored 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting and 2-of-7 from the foul line. The Bucks have rolled when Giannis gets to the line 10 or more times in a game, but that must start with his aggression and desire to put Leonard on his heels defending him.
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