By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo almost missed his maiden NBA Finals after a knee injury but the Milwaukee Bucks superstar managed to recover in time and, if his stats are to be considered, recovered completely.
He scored 42 points in Game 2 against the Suns but it wasn’t enough and the Bucks now trial 2-0 in the series. They are, however, going back to Milwaukee now and Giannis believes the team will do what it has to.
“I think no matter what we say, we know what the deal is. It’s as simple as that. We’ve got to go back home and do our job. They did their job. We’ve got to do our job. We’ve been here before and we were able to get the job done. Hopefully, we can put ourselves in a position and we can believe in one another and we can play together and we can have fun. We can compete and we can dive on the floor, we can make shots, put ourselves in a position to win the game. But like we know what the deal is, man. We got to go back home and protect home,” Giannis said.
Antetokounmpo will need some help going forward if Bucks are to bounce back and that is especially true for Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton who didn’t exactly shine. Giannis has no doubt that they will step up.
“Just keep talking to him, keep telling him to be aggressive. No matter what’s going on, you’ve got to stay aggressive and you cannot get in your feelings. It’s hard not to. You know, NBA Finals, 20,000 people booing you and all that, it’s kind of hard, “ he said about Holiday.
“But at the end of the day, it’s not about me. It’s not about him. It’s not about Khris [Middleton]. It’s not about Coach. It’s about all of us. … If there’s a game that you’re 3-for-12 or whatever the case might be and you can rebound the ball or get a steal or do something else to help the team win, that’s what it’s all about right now. I think he understands that,” Giannis explained and added.
“I know he’s going to be there when we need him the most and I don’t worry about it. He’s a great basketball player. He’s played great all year and he’s going to continue to play great for this team.”