By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Milwaukee Bucks are up 3-0, early in the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season. Despite missing key players, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been carrying his team.
Antetokounmpo, 27, produced 32.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 0.5 steals per contest. Coming off the 2022 EuroBasket and representing Greece during the NBA offseason, his goal is to insert habits from international action into further strengthening his presence as a leading star of the Bucks and the NBA in general.
“You don’t have much time, you don’t have time to think. You might have one shot. What the defense is giving you, you just got to take it,” he shared his view on what he carries over from EuroBasket to Milwaukee, “In the NBA, you got so much space. Sometimes, you fall into the trap that there are so many things you can do. And you want to do everything at once. At the end of the day, I want to play in my strengths.”
Lifting the Bucks over the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday, the Freak tallied a 43-point, 14-rebound double-double to go along with five assists, three blocks, and one steal in 38 minutes.
“I have been working a lot over a few years and this summer, I am just so anxious to prove to myself to do what I have been working [on]. Sometimes, I think I do play not to my strength as much. I kind of scratch that,” he explained how he left first-half struggles behind him to dominate after the break Wednesday.
His side continues to play without injured Khris Middleton (wrist), Pat Connaughton (calf), and Joe Ingles (knee).
Up next are the New York Knicks Friday, in the third stop of a six-game homestand.
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