Protecting home court, defending Giannis Antetokounmpo – those two are the main priorities Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle have ahead of their first round series with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks failed to get the home advantage after their disastrous start in the month of March. They did have a great ending to the regular season though as they went 8-1 in their last nine.
The Greek Freak is a big part of it all, stepping up as point forward with Damian Lillard out indefinitely.
He is the reason why Carlisle thinks they should protect the advantage they worked hard for on Saturday.
“You just got to have your guard up,” Carlisle said in an interview with Clark Wade of IndyStar.
“It’s a protect your turf mentality, and it’s undending, so we’ve got to get that edge this week heading into Saturday.”
How does he plan to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo?
The two-time MVP averaged 31.8 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 11.8 APG (1st in NBA) in the month of April. He is peaking at the right time for the Bucks.
As for the Pacers, they had the luxury of not dealing with Antetokounmpo last season as the Greek superstar was ruled out for the playoffs at that time due to calf strain.
Carlisle is aware of the run Giannis had in the past weeks but he is ready.
“They’re a tough match up. They’re really, really difficult. They’ve won eight in a row without Lillard. Giannis, he’s not only scoring 30, but he’s getting 12 or 13 assists a game in the last several games. And so there’s a lot of problems to deal with,” he said.
“During this period when Dame has been out, he’s been seeing consistent double teams and he’s just continued to evolve as a great player and he’s mixing in the assist. The laser skip passes across the court, which are very difficult to deal with when you’re double teaming him. And his shooting’s getting better and better.”
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