Maintaining aggressiveness
It took a while for the Bucks to overcome their false start, but their unrelenting style of play eventually came into focus over the course of their comeback over the Rockets. And it’s quite clear that Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo fully embodies that quality for the Bucks.
The reigning MVP’s triple-double performance ultimately came to a premature end as he fouled out at the 5:18 mark in the fourth quarter and the Bucks’ veteran supporting cast was able to soldier on without their signature superstar.
Bucks fans will certainly be quick to call some of the foul calls that went against Antetokounmpo suspect and hopefully seeing the 24-year-old foul out with plenty of game time left doesn’t become a common occurrence this season. But it shouldn’t dissuade Antetokounmpo, or the entire Bucks’ core for that matter, from veering away from being aggressive and incisive on both ends of the floor.
As Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relayed during his recap of the Bucks’ win over the Rockets, Antetokounmpo got a much needed pep talk on this subject from starting point guard Eric Bledsoe during the halftime break before his personal second half heroics:
"“While he didn’t figure into crunch time, Antetokounmpo’s heroics were what gave the Bucks a chance, to begin with. After taking a 16-point deficit into halftime, Antetokounmpo gave Milwaukee life with a hard-charging scoring spree in the third quarter, one aided in part by Eric Bledsoe’s halftime encouragement. “Bledsoe came to me and told me, ‘You’ve got to be aggressive. It doesn’t matter if you get two charges, three charges, four charges – you’ve got to stay aggressive,’”Antetokounmpo recalled. “That’s what I tried to do.”"
As Antetokounmpo goes, so do the Bucks and with his lead by example-type leadership, the Bucks fought against the odds to open up their regular season with a win. And they’ll continue to rely on him to set the commanding tone that is characteristic of the Bucks’ elite play overall.
The Bucks’ duel with the Miami Heat will tip off at 4pm central time at Fiserv Forum.