The Milwaukee Bucks are currently down 2-0 in the NBA Finals to the Phoenix Suns. At one point it didn’t look like Giannis Antetokounmpo would even play in the series. Now, this entire Bucks team is basically Antetokounmpo and scrubs. Antetokounmpo went down with a knee injury in the Eastern Conference Finals.
There were fears he tore his ACL but when tests concluded, he had a hyper-extended knee. He was doubtful for Game 1 and worked his way into the lineup. He scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in 35 minutes. He wasn’t aggressive in the first game but he was effective enough. In that first game, Jrue Holiday scored 10 points on 4-14 from the field while Khris Middleton caught fire with 29 points and seven rebounds.
Middleton has had the most inconsistent playoffs of any player I’ve ever seen. He came back in the second game for the Bucks and shot 5-16 from the floor. He scored 11 points but still provided eight assists and six rebounds in the game. Jrue Holiday missed a bunch of easy layups and went 7-21 from the floor with 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds. It was Antetokounmpo who kept the Bucks in the game.
On a hyper-extended and banged-up knee, Antetokounmpo scored 42 points with 12 rebounds and four assists. It’s clear he can’t beat this deep Suns team alone and needs other guys to step up. Those guys have to be Holiday and Middleton. They need to be more efficient offensively for the Bucks to win the NBA Championship, or better off, win a game and not get hit with the Suns-in-four drama.
The third highest leading scorer for the Bucks in Game 2 was Pat Connaughton. He nailed four of nine from long range and scored 14 points. He literally scored more than Middleton, who will be an Olympian when the Championship concludes. And don’t forget Holiday will also play for team USA as an olympian. They sure haven’t played like it in the NBA Finals. Giannis talked about his teammates after the game.
“Just keep talking to him, keep telling him to be aggressive,” Antetokounmpo said when asked what his message for Holiday would be heading into Game 3. “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.
“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.
To be fair, Middleton and Holiday put up a combined 15 assists and 11 rebounds to contribute beyond their poor shooting. But it would’ve been nice to steal a road game before going to Milwaukee. The good news is, they are headed to Milwaukee. The fans will be on their side instead of booing them and they’ve been extremely passionate all year long. Holiday is 11-for-35 in the NBA Finals and has a combined 27 points in the first two games. He scored 27 points when Giannis couldn’t play and helped secure a Finals appearance.
That’s the Holiday the Bucks are going to need. He was more aggressive in the second game of the Finals but it didn’t matter. He missed easy buckets and looked a bit lost. “I think we had a lot of open shots that we didn’t make,” Holiday said. “I know me personally, there were a couple layups there that I usually make that kind of rimmed in and out. Had some good looks.
“Giannis had a great game getting to the basket, penetrating. I feel like we did a pretty good job of penetrating and making plays for other people, but just got to do it a little bit better.” He’s right. They just gotta make those easy buckets and that should happen on Sunday, when they get to play at home in front of their own crowd
