The Milwaukee Bucks lost their fourth game of the season on Saturday in a highly disappointing defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic, 112-97. It was pretty much a wire-to-wire victory for the home team as a hungry Orlando side just proved too much for a Damian Lillard-less Bucks team that had to rely heavily on Giannis Antetokounmpo yet again.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Calls Out Milwaukee Bucks
After the game, a disappointed Giannis got brutally honest with his assessment of his team’s performance against the Magic. Antetokounmpo, who did all he could to carry the Bucks with a game-high 35 points on 15-of-22 shooting, to go along with 10 rebounds, seven assists, four steals, and two blocks in 37 minutes of play, could not help but call out his own squad after the deflating loss:
“We just gotta do a better job, man,” Antetokounmpo said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Right now, I think the individual pride is there, but like, the team defense is not there. We’re not helping each other as much as we should. … I feel like the gaps are wide open. I feel like the guys feel comfortable to be able to come down, attack, go downhill, get an angle, make a play for themselves or for their teammates. Like I wish, you know, I wish we were being guarded that way.”
Defense has been an issue for the Bucks to start the season for Milwaukee, and the same was the case on Saturday against Orlando. The fact that Paolo Banchero (26 points, 12 rebounds), Franz Wagner (24 points, six rebounds), and Jalen Suggs (20 points, two triples) combined for 70 points is a clear testament to this fact.
Giannis knows that the Bucks will need to be much, much better than this if they’re serious about competing for that championship this season.
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