Giannis-Damian duo
Giannis Antetokounmpo tried to make a go of it yesterday. He had been suffering from tendinitis in his left Achilles for some time, but he managed to suit up in previous outings all the same. In fact, he had missed only two matches since the 2023-24 season began, with his sterling stats throughout hardly suggesting any impairment in his movement. Unfortunately, he had to cut his pregame routine short, and his retreat to the locker room negated any chance of him making tipoff against the vaunted Clippers.
Needless to say, the Bucks struggled early on in his absence. To argue that they missed his norms of 30.8 points (on a career-high 60.8% shooting from the field), 11.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists would be an understatement. That said, they kept plodding on, and their grit even without Antetokounmpo (and fellow starter Khris Middleton) enabled them to stay close enough to be down by just eight heading into the final period. And, egged on by the capacity crowd of 17,875 at the Fiserv Forum, they promptly pulled away to prevail against the Clippers by seven.
In retrospect, Antetokounmpo’s sidelining yesterday may well have worked in the Bucks’ favor. It’s never good to take the measure of highly regarded opponents without a foundational piece, but, for the green and white, their gutsy stand versus the Clippers served to shine the spotlight on offseason acquisition Damian Lillard. Seen as a vital cog in their effort to claim a second Larry O’Brien Trophy in four years, the eight-time All-Star had hitherto been putting up pedestrian numbers by his standards. Thusly, for him to be thrust in a leadership position similar to that which he had with the Blazers — and thereafter delivering in spades — was a much-needed injection of confidence.
The Bucks certainly rode on Lillard’s coattails to forge an unlikely triumph; when the battlesmoke cleared, he had to his name a heady 41 (on a 12-of-22 clip), four, four, and one. His exertions preserved their undefeated status off the All-Star break and extended their winning skein to six. As a corollary, they’ve built needed momentum for a critical turn in their campaign; up next in their schedule are the Warriors, Lakers, Clippers (again), Kings, Sixers, Suns, and Celtics. The next two weeks will be brutal, and a healthy Antetokounmpo is a must — and now backstopped by a rejuvenated partner.
If nobody’s making noise about the decision to hire Doc Rivers as head coach midstream, it’s because the Bucks are finally underscoring the reasons for the change with on-court success. They’re once again a force on defense, and are slowly learning how to make optimal use of the Antetokounmpo-Lillard connection. They may still be staring at the backsides of the Celtics in the standings, but they at least know now that they have more than just a puncher’s chance to take the East, if not the league itself.