The Milwaukee Bucks’ title hopes rest on the play of Giannis Antetokounmpo. While there are other great pieces around Giannis, everything revolves around him. In the past couple of games, Giannis has taken some hard fouls and head coach Mike Budenholzer is not happy. Mike Budenholzer blasted the officiating of Giannis following the win against the Trailblazers.
Mike Budenholzer Blasts Officiating Of Giannis
It started with the shoulder check that Joel Embiid gave Giannis in a game on Nov. 18. That was called a flagrant 1 foul but many thought it should have resulted in Embiid being tossed from the game. In the most recent game against the Trail Blazers, Giannis grabbed a rebound and ran down the court with a full head of steam. Jerami Grant stuck his arm out and clotheslined Giannis sending him to the floor hard. It seems Budenholzer has seen enough. “The league needs to protect him. It’s not just him, anybody takes those hits, the league needs to protect players.” Budenholzer wants the league to step in a stop the huge hits on these star players.
Protect The Players
This happens often with players that are difficult to guard. Giannis makes everything look so easy and he is so physically gifted that players sometimes resort to aggressive fouling. The problem is those hits add up and are potentially dangerous. The league is a star-driven league. People pay big money for tickets to see the stars play. Protecting star players is not about making the game less physical. It is about protecting players who make this league great.
It was good to hear Mike Budenholzer call out the officiating of Giannis. After last night’s game, the number of videos that came out of past hard fouls on Giannis was astounding. He takes so many fouls that if any other player took, the offender would be thrown out and labeled a dirty player. It is worth noting that Giannis says that he feels good even after taking these hits. The increased amount of rest time is helping but the league needs to make sure they are protecting their star players like Giannis.
Follow me on Twitter at @sorcerermatt, and follow us @WiSportsHeroics. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Wisconsin sports, click here!
