By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo aims to use his team’s prior experience from the 2019 East semifinals against the Boston Celtics and this year’s first-round series vs. Orlando Magic as a guide for the rest of the games vs. the Miami Heat.
“We’ve been here before,” Giannis said in a zoom call after the Bucks’ loss to the Heat in Game 1 of the 2020 East semifinals. “We did the same last year against Boston. Obviously, this year may be different. We might go down 0-2. At the end of the day, you got to come out and play Game 2. Our season is on the line.”
“Watch the tape, make the adjustments, be aggressive, make the right play and hopefully, we can win the game,” Giannis added. The Bucks had responded 4-0 after falling in the opener of the aforementioned matchups vs. the Celtics and the Magic.
Antetokounmpo struggled under the intense and highly physical defense of the Miami Heat. The 2019 MVP often crashed on barriers erected by multiple Heat bodies when trying to drive to the basket and finished the game with 18 points on 6-12 shots. He also suffered when he visited the free-throw line, finishing with 4-12.
These eight misses marked a new playoffs-worst for Giannis (per Stats Muse) while the 4-12 are the poorest playoff free-throw performance since 2017 (per ESPN Stats & Info).
“I just keep making the right play,” Giannis said. “Keep playing good basketball, keep finding my teammates. Obviously they are going to try and build a wall as much as possible. This game, the next game, the whole series. So I got to make the right play.” Antetokounmpo also notched 10 rebounds and a 2020 personal playoffs-high nine assists.
The last time Giannis registered so few field goal attempts in a non-minute-restricted game was back in February, during an overtime win over the Washington Wizards. Even then, he didn’t play much since he fouled out after 25 minutes on the court.
“Do I want to be more aggressive? Obviously,” Giannis admitted. “When the game is over and you look at the stats sheet and you see 12 shots, you kind of wonder ‘Why didn’t I shoot more?’ ‘Could I’ve been more aggressive?’ I think I was trying to make the right play. That was my mindset the whole game and win or lose, you have to live with that. ”
Outside of what was happening on the court, Giannis had a certain reason to smile: His baby son Liam Charles and girlfriend Mariah Danae attending the match in the arena.
“It’s awesome,” Giannis said.