Ever since the Bucks acquired Damian Lillard, there has been speculation about who will touch the ball more frequently: Giannis Antetokounmpo or Dame? Giannis, though, has made it apparent what he wants.
“In the end,” Giannis stated to The Athletic. “I feel like this is the first time in my career that I really don’t mind with my usage being 25. I don’t want to say I don’t care because I care a lot.” He should start as the starting point guard for me. He is this team’s point guard. With the ball in his hands, he is the one who will make a lot of judgments regarding early and late offense, clockwise and counterclockwise, and early and late in the game. I have faith in him to make many of the decisions that will be made for this club. We’ve been playing for a few days, and I can already tell he will eventually discover me.
With Lillard’s ability to shoot from practically anywhere and Giannis’ propensity to attack the rim, the Bucks offense will undoubtedly give opponents serious problems.
Regarding who will possess the majority of the items, Giannis states that Dame will be the clear winner.
As of right now, I’m 28. “I’m no longer a child,” declared Antetokounmpo. “This is not, in any way, a competition between me and him over who will have the ball more; obviously, you have to have friendly competition within your team to try to push one another and to be great and be better prepared for the game.” He’ll have more possession of the ball, and I have faith that he’ll locate me—not just me—but also our teammates and position us for success.
But in the end, dude, this is really the first time that I’ve felt like, “OK, we have to let Dame be Dame, even if it means that Khris and I have to step back.” Not quite back, but you know—from handling balls. As participants, we need to advance.
Teams that are rivals will undoubtedly have a serious issue if Giannis can continue to be Giannis and Dame can continue to be Dame.
When you factor in defensive virtuoso Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, and Khris Middleton, Milwaukee’s rivals might have even more of an issue.
The Bucks were the clear favorites to win the championship after the Dame trade, but the Celtics aren’t far behind them after acquiring former Buck Jrue Holiday.
It is almost time for the NBA season to begin!