Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo had quite a bit to say after Saturday’s tough loss to the Houston Rockets. The former back-to-back MVP clearly wasn’t happy with his team’s performance on the evening and he made sure to let his feelings known.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Rips Milwaukee Bucks After Rockets Loss
Giannis, in particular, openly criticized his team’s defense against the Rockets. According to Antetokounmpo, his team played with an utter lack of pride in what turned out to be a truly disappointing loss for a Bucks side with championship aspirations this season:
“Offense is gonna be there some nights, and, some nights, it’s not going to be there,” Antetokounmpo said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Your defensive effort, though, has got to be there. And defensively, our effort was not there. There was no pride. Guys were just driving the ball, straight-line drive, getting to the paint, over-helping, shooting 3s, offensive rebounds. There was nothing. This was not the Milwaukee Bucks. This is not who we are.”
After seeing Milwaukee give up 63 points in the first half, it’s really hard to argue against Giannis’ bold statement here.
Adrian Griffin Reacts
Speaking to reporters on Monday ahead of Milwaukee’s game against the Utah Jazz, head coach Adrian Griffin was asked to share his thoughts on his star player’s recent tirade. Coach Griff didn’t exactly disagree with Antetokounmpo’s assessment, but the first-year shot-caller did point out that his team did show signs of life in the second half against the Rockets:
“Well, I think defense wins championships and we gotta continue to grow,” he said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “I thought we started off slow in the first half against Houston, I think we gave up 60-plus points. And then, the second half, we held them to only 49 points, so there was growth. And not putting any words in Giannis’ mouth, but we can’t dig ourselves in a hole like that. I think if we come out competing like we did in the second half, we give ourselves a chance. But we gotta be strong on both sides of the ball.”
At the end of the day, however, the Bucks still come home with a big fat L. They will obviously want to correct that on Monday against the Jazz as Giannis, Griffin, and the rest of the squad hope to avoid losing their fifth game in January.
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