Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Greek team were brushed aside by Turkey in their 94-68 defeat in the semi-finals of EuroBasket. This can only give the Greek Freak more motivation heading into the upcoming NBA season with the Milwaukee Bucks. The taste of defeat could ignite a fire beneath him.
The writing was on the wall from early on in this one. It was all too familiar to Bucks fans, with Giannis having a rare poor night and not having the support around him to help pick up the pieces. He finished the night with 12 points and 12 rebounds on 6-of-13 shooting (46 percent) with five turnovers in 29 minutes, having sat out for the final quarter.
Giannis and Greece exit EuroBasket in dismal fashion
Nothing summed the game up more than the 22 Greece turnovers to the 12 of Turkey. It was a dismal performance from Greece, and very few players came out of the game with any credit. All NBA season long, the Bucks were struggling with teams that were more energetic and athletic, and that's how Greece's semi-final defeat felt.
Warning signs had been there for Greece with a subpar quarter-final win over Israel. Turkey came flying out of the blocks, scoring seven early points and not allowing Greece to score a point for the first two minutes. You would have thought a Giannis poster of two defenders would energize Greece, but they were all over the place. Ercan Osmani ended the first with 11 points as Turkey led by 10.
The triple-team Turkey implemented on Giannis was far more impactful than that of Spain in the group phase, holding Antetokounmpo to four points on 2-of-7 (29 percent) shooting at halftime with three turnovers. As a team, the Greeks couldn't maintain stable possession, turning the ball over 12 times, which led to 17 points for Turkey. Meanwhile, the Turks only turned the ball over twice in the first 20 minutes.
Things just got worse for Greece the longer the second quarter went on, finding themselves going into the locker rooms down by 18, leaving themselves a mountain to climb.
You might have thought some strong words in the Greek locker room might have sparked something, but it clearly didn't. Turkey continued to go on run after run in the third and pushed their lead into the mid-20s. Giannis and Greece couldn't get any offense going, and any open shots they did create were misses. Defensively, assignments were just missed all evening long.
Giannis was brought out of the game with four minutes left in the third quarter and wouldn't return, perhaps a good sight for Bucks fans to stop him from risking a needless injury. It was all too familiar for Milwaukee fans. Giannis had an off night, but no one was there to help pick up the slack, and it was left to him to try to fight through multiple defenders.
Overall, the tournament has been pretty successful for Greece. Getting to the final four, Giannis played well throughout. However, the way they went out will leave a sour taste in the mouth. The hope now is that this will only give him even more fuel and motivation to lead his team towards a contending season.
Greece will play a third-place game on Sunday, September 14, against Finland.