Antetokounmpo making his mark in Milwaukee
LeBron James went west but the best player is still in the Eastern Conference.
That’s according to Knicks coach David Fizdale, who surprisingly gave the title to 23-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo the “Greek Freak..
“The guy is, right now, to me the best player in the league,” Fizdale said. “Playing at the highest level.”
Asked how he might stop Milwaukee’s hulking forward Saturday in a game at the Garden, Fizdale responded, “You got a tractor? You got a tank?”
Antetokounmpo is thriving in Mike Budenholzer’s system, averaging, before Saturday, 27.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Bucks also are second in the Eastern Conference, improving dramatically since replacing Jason Kidd as its coach with Budenholzer.
Nonetheless, it’s notable that Fizdale crowned Antetokounmpo as the best in the NBA after coaching James as an assistant for four seasons in Miami.
The Bucks owned a sixgame winning streak against the Knicks going into Saturday, with Antetokounmpo averaging about 28 points and 10.6 rebounds versus New York since the 2016-17 season.
“I’m certainly glad he’s on our team,” Budenholzer said.
“There are a lot of great players in this league. So just the fact that Giannis is in that conversation is a huge statement for how good Giannis is. We feel he can get a lot better. That’s kind of the exciting part about Giannis. He’s certainly special.”
Raptors
Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points to lead Toronto to its eighth consecutive win, 10695, against host Cleveland. Toronto improved to an NBA-best 20-4 despite playing without All-Star guard Kyle Lowry, who sat out with a back injury. Fred VanVleet started for Lowry and added 15 points.
Warriors
Stephen Curry returned to score 27 points in a 120-111 win against Detroit after he has missed the past 11 games due to a groin injury.
Bulls
Forward Lauri Markkanen returned to score 10 points in a 121-105 loss to the Houston Rockets. Markkanen was dealing with a right elbow sprain that caused him to miss the first 23 games of the season.