“I ride with Dame until the fu***ng end”: Giannis Antetokounmpo dares Damian Lillard to replicate Portland playoff magic in Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo find themselves in the middle of a peculiar season. The Bucks are third in the Eastern Conference and boast of a talented roster that has benefitted from the move for Damian Lillard.
And yet, criticism has been mounting. That is partly due to the poor start the team has got off to, under the tutelage of Doc Rivers. Since Rivers took over, the team is 5-7 and wins have been difficult to come by.
Speaking to The Athletic, the "Greek Freak" himself went into detail about the team performances, claiming that the Bucks have struggled due to the incessant changes that have been made to the backroom staff, as well as the roster itself.
Of course, apart from the inclusion of Damian Lillard, the Bucks have also somewhat struggled due to the absence of Jrue Holiday, who has turned the Boston Celtics into prime title contenders. Still, Giannis Antetokounmpo claimed that he was a huge Lillard fan, and still expects things to work out, eventually:
“I am his biggest fan. Good or bad, I ride with Dame until the f—ing end. I ride with Dame. Like I’ve been saying this over and over again. This. Is. His. Team.
"Down the stretch, he’s going to get the ball. There’s nothing else that we will do. I don’t know how else to put it. I don’t know what else to say. But at the end of the day, he has to believe it too.”
The departure of Mike Budenholzer and the hiring of Adrian Griffin marked the beginning of a series of changes that culminated in the acquisition of Damian Lillard before training camp. Despite the challenges, Giannis has produced consistently and is now hoping for things to take a turn, especially concerning his relationship with Lillard.
Giannis Antetokounmpo thinks Bucks only need minor adjustments
Giannis Antetokounmpo went on to talk about the kind of changes the team needs to succeed. He talked in detail about his on-court relationship with Damian Lillard, suggesting that they need to be more dynamic together:
“It has to be organic. It can not just be, ‘Give the ball to Dame. Giannis set the screen. It’s going to work.’ It doesn’t work like that.
"While we are operating, guys have to be moving, keeping guys occupied. While the pick and roll is happening, guys have to change spots, so the load men are occupied.
"It’s not (as simple as) ‘You go set the screen’… The days that it is within the flow of the offense — I come set one, he hits me, I come back, I hit him — that’s when we’re finding success.”
The 29-year-old went on to talk about how he is getting used to playing with a player of Lillard’s quality. Giannis suggested that, unlike someone like Khris Middleton, Lillard sometimes needs space to play alone, which means that instead of supporting him, he needs to give him space to make his move offensively.
Giannis Antetokounmpo claimed that while the pressure was understandable, it was only a matter of time before he and his Bucks teammates would figure things out. That, of course, will also be exactly what the fans will be hoping for.