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Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mike Budenholzer are a bit frustrated with the way the reigning MVP is being officiated.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to victory in Monday night's matchup against the Chicago Bulls, scoring 33 points and 10 rebounds (his 13th consecutive double-double of the season). However, The Greek Freak racked up five offensive fouls.
It was Milwaukee's fourth consecutive win, but it sounds like Budenholzer is at a loss for words with regards to how the refs officiate Giannis:
Me: In other games, we've talked about cutting out some of the silly fouls, the reaches, but it was five offensive fouls (for Giannis) tonight. Are you at a loss for what to tell him at this point on the offensive end?
Bud: Yes.
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) November 19, 2019
Instead of bashing the officials, Antetokounmpo says he'll try to keep playing downhill:
When I asked Antetokounmpo about his whistle, he chose to stay away from going into too much detail, but instead decided to use his right hand as a prop.
He slowly pointed out the different open cuts and scratches he had on his hand.
"One….we got two…we got three."
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) November 19, 2019
After showing off the cuts on his hands, Antetokounmpo eventually continued in his answer about his whistle.
"They're going to try to foul. They're going to try to show bodies, try to fall, try to get a charge and trip me…"
Here is what Giannis had to say in full: pic.twitter.com/5p5RHNc9xY
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) November 19, 2019
Antetokounmpo plays with a certain aggression in most cases. It's one of the many traits that led him to an MVP level in the NBA. Five offensive fouls is a lot, but in the end, he was happy with the win:
“Usually in the games like this that I get offensive fouls, I know that I'm aggressive. … So I'm happy with that,” Antetokounmpo said after Monday's 115-101 victory.
Giannis is off to a great start in this campaign. The 24-year-old has started in all 13 of Milwaukee's games thus far, racking up averages of 30.3 points on 58.1 percent shooting from the field (32.1 percent from beyond the arc), 14.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in 33.0 minutes per outing. His 14 rebounds per game are currently second in the league behind Andre Drummond.
The Bucks will look to extend their winning streak to five on Wednesday night, when they'll face off against the Atlanta Hawks Tip-off inside State Farm Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
