Subscribe
Follow Us
Giannis Antetokounmpo is only 25 years old, but with a Defensive Player of the Year Award and soon to be two MVP Awards to his name, there’s pressure on him to start coming through in the playoffs.
Locked On Bucks Podcast host Kane Pitman had Frank Madden on the show to discuss how Jimmy Butler outplayed Giannis in Game 1 and how the Miami Heat pressured Antetokounmpo in exactly the right way.
Article Continues BelowFrank Madden: I think last series, Nikola Vucevic clearly outplayed Giannis in Game 1. Bucks lose to the Heat in this Game 1. I mean, it wasn't close, to me, [Butler] was just miles better than Giannis.
You just look at it… kind of eerily similar to the Boston Game 1 a year ago. In that game, he was 7 out of 21 from the field, 5 out of 10 from the free-throw line.
This game, 6 out of 12 from the field, 2 out of 5 from three, but 4 out of 10 from the free-throw line.
He hit his first two shots then was just 2 out of 10 with 10 rebounds, 9 assists, six turnovers, he was a -14 for the game. I mean, the Bucks were +3 in the 11 minutes that Giannis was on the bench tonight. So I think you know, your best player, your MVP, got outplayed by Jimmy Butler. That to me is a starting point…
Kane Pitman: The Heat were so committed to… anytime the Bucks had the ball… we don't always see this where three guys would literally just sprint at Giannis and force him to stop. You don't see that kind of discipline from this team. They’ve obviously got a bunch of unique defenders that will be physical. The fact that Giannis got into early foul trouble again with a very soft, ridiculous offensive foul call that he just continually gets called for. It's unbelievable. But he does and that's the reality. He got into early foul trouble.
He spoke about being aggressive after the game. I do think that against this team, if Giannis gets into foul trouble, he is going to be hesitant because he knows that they're going to be calling the offensive fouls on him, and that seemed to be the problem for me. He stopped trying to attack that wall, they stop trying to find the gaps. And sometimes it can be him forcing it, and sometimes it doesn't work out and he can turn the ball over. He did turn it over six times tonight. But getting in early foul trouble is just brutal for him because it seems to, at times, take him out of the game, and this team was so disciplined and I think that early foul trouble set the tone.
Now, it’s time for the Milwaukee Bucks to respond and prove they are still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
