Behind the Bucks Pass
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Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Win Over Cleveland Cavaliers

By Adam McGee

Nov 29, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; The Milwaukee Bucks dancers perform during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 29, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; The Milwaukee Bucks dancers perform during the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

Giannis Ascends To New Heights

Considering the incredible numbers Giannis Antetokounmpo has put up to start the season, Bucks fans have been busy chattering recently.

The team hasn’t sent a player to the All-Star game since Michael Redd in 2003-04. Instead, recent years have seen the fanbase dare to hope that maybe a Brandon Knight or Khris Middleton could sneak in as a last minute reserve. As a result, the continued emergence of the Greek Freak has left the people of Milwaukee daring to dream.

“Could he, possibly, be an All-Star, maybe, this year, if everything goes right?” That’s the kind of polite way fans ask a question when they know what it feels like to have been burned too many times.

Now, the questions over whether Giannis can make the All-Star game need to stop, though.

Antetokounmpo WILL be an All-Star this year. At his current rate, he might even start, and that might only prove to be the stepping stone for a season that puts him in the conversation for All-NBA teams and awards.

There’s no more need for trepidation. On Tuesday night, Giannis was kind enough to grant LeBron James a front row seat for a 34 point, 12 rebound, five assist, five steal, two block masterclass. The 21-year-old outmatched LeBron physically like I can’t remember any other player doing in recent years. He even had success backing LEBRON JAMES down!

Antetokounmpo has become a force of nature. Bucks fans have known this for quite some time, but there’s a difference between living off the hope of what he can be, and seeing him deliver matched up against the best player of the past decade.

Giannis is now a runaway train. He’s averaging 22.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.1 steals and 2.1 blocks while shooting 52.7 percent. Potential is still a factor as he still has so many ways in which he can improve, but he’s already hitting heights that 99 percent of the league could only ever dream of reaching.

This isn’t about scraping into All-Star teams any more. This is a new world for Bucks basketball.

The King left Milwaukee with an L on Tuesday night, as the King-in-waiting cemented his place as the rightful heir to the throne.

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