Giannis Antetokounmpo was far from happy about what he saw from the Milwaukee Bucks during Saturday’s highly disappointing loss to the Houston Rockets. The former back-to-back MVP knew that they left a lot to be desired against Houston, which resulted in the Bucks losing their third out of four games in January.
Antetokounmpo sent a strong message to his team after the loss, which included a call-out aimed at head coach Adrian Griffin.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Calls Out Milwaukee Bucks
![Adrian Griffin Responds to Giannis Antetokounmpo's Demand that Milwaukee Bucks 'Have to Be Coached Better' 1 Jan 3, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the second quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports](https://wisportsheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/USATSI_22216818_168400517_lowres-scaled.jpg)
To be fair to Giannis, he did not single Adrian Griffin out. In fact, Antetokounmpo also said, “It starts with me.” As the leader of the squad, the former back-to-back MVP is well aware of the fact that he has to lead the charge.
Giannis then went on to call out the rest of his team amid their recent struggles:
“We have to be better,” Giannis said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “We have to play better. We have to defend better. We have to trust one another better. We have to be coached better. Every single thing, everybody has to be better. Everybody. It starts from the equipment manager. He has to wash our clothes better. The bench has to be better. The leaders of the team have to be more vocal. We have to make more shots. We have to defend better. We have to have better strategy. We have to be better…
“We have four months to get better, so let’s see.”
Adrian Griffin Responds
![Adrian Griffin Responds to Giannis Antetokounmpo's Demand that Milwaukee Bucks 'Have to Be Coached Better' 2 Milwaukee Brewers NBA refs](https://wisportsheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/USATSI_21851500_168400517_lowres-scaled.jpg)
Coach Griff obviously caught wind of his star player’s message, and the 49-year-old shot-caller responded to the same on Monday night. Speaking to the press ahead of Milwaukee’s home game against the Utah Jazz, Griffin echoed Antetokounmpo’s sentiments:
“I agree. We all gotta be better,” Griffin said, via Gabe Stoltz of Brew Hoop. “We had a great December. We started out slow in January and when you drop three, I believe, out of four games, everyone gotta be better. Coaches gotta be better, players gotta be better. There’s just no way around it. We’re a high-character team. Giannis wants to win. I want to win. The players want to win. The coaches want to win. The entire organization wants to win. We’re all aligned and you know, we gotta do things that go into winning. It’s that simple.”
There’s no arguing that.
![Adrian Griffin Responds to Giannis Antetokounmpo's Demand that Milwaukee Bucks 'Have to Be Coached Better' 3 Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin](https://wisportsheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/USATSI_21989999_168400517_lowres-1-e1701310123606.jpg)
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1 Comment
Giannis can’t possibly be playing any better than he has, but he’s got the same god complex as LeBron did when he forced the GM’s hand to make a trade that no sane person would ever have made (for Dame). It was solely due to comments from GA. Maybe that should feed Giannis a little humble pie and he should learn to let the EXPERTS do what they do best and that is to assemble the roster in the manner THEY prefer–it’s pretty clear that AG and Horstie worked together to acquire defensive minded elite athletes that could grow on offense–so that the coach CAN coach the system he wants in the right manner.
Giannis says he wants titles. He’s probably cost himself one this year by having the team send out better players than they brought in (Grayson and Jrue for Beas and Dame has been awful, but that was Giannis the GM’s move, not Horstie).