Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 121-108 loss to Utah Jazz

Giannis gets mad

Much of the post-game chatter among Bucks fans on social media centered around a third quarter incident involving Giannis Antetokounmpo that seemed very much out of character for the young Greek star.

Showing signs of frustration at a lack of calls, Giannis knocked over a chair heading into a Bucks’ timeout and then could be seen arguing with Bucks assistant coach Sean Sweeney.

In all likelihood, the incident itself isn’t worth spending too much time talking about. Antetokounmpo showed frustration in the heat of the moment, which isn’t uncommon for someone as competitive as he is. In terms of any disagreement with Sweeney, Giannis has worked incredibly closely with Sweeney in recent years and by all accounts the two have a very strong working relationship, which is unlikely to change because of one moment like this.

It’s the context to the incident that’s much more important. Antetokounmpo’s frustration originated from two plays prior to the timeout when he had to deal with a lot of contact going toward the rim, and clearly believed he had been fouled.

Giannis complained loudly and persistently as he came back down the court, and as was noted by Jim Paschke and Marques Johnson in commentary, it almost seemed as if he was trying to get called for a technical foul. It wasn’t the first time Giannis appeared to feel he’d been wronged by the officials throughout the night, and still heated the next time he came down the floor, Antetokounmpo drove recklessly resulting in a sloppy turnover.

It’s in situations like that one when it can often pay to show your star player you have his back. Jason Kidd picked up a fine for complaining about officiating earlier in the season, but he hasn’t always been the most vocal on the sideline during games when making the case for his team.