Milwaukee Bucks: 3 things to watch for in visit to Philadelphia 76ers

Giannis on a mission

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 52 points in his last meeting against the 76ers, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t produce a similarly dominant display this time around.

Antetokounmpo highlighted what must be the leading concern for Philadelphia with the prospect of a potential Conference Finals matchup with Milwaukee lying in wait. That is, they don’t have any player capable of slowing the Greek superstar down.

Joel Embiid is likely Philadelphia’s best option, but even he can’t stop Giannis. Furthermore, the Sixers may well be left apprehensive at the prospect of having Embiid take on that kind of workload on the defensive end for the entirety of any given night.

The alternative is Ben Simmons, who Antetokounmpo dominated on both ends in the two teams’ previous matchup. As Philadelphia came away with a win on that occasion, it was in spite of Simmons who was nullified entirely by Antetokounmpo.

What’s more heading into Thursday night, it seems clear that Antetokounmpo carries a little extra feeling into games with the 76ers. His exchanges with Simmons certainly highlighted that last time, while his honest but sharp comments about Embiid ahead of this meeting will likely further fan the flames.