Getty Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Boston Celtics surprised many in their Game 1 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs.
The C’s got the 112-90 victory over the Bucks.
It was tremendous how they did it. Point guard, Kyrie Irving finished with 26 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, fiery guard, Terry Rozier pitched in with 22 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Celtics big man, Al Horford put on a clinic. He finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Even more impressive: Already averaging 10 rebounds per contest so far in the NBA postseason, Horford also has the arduous task of defending Giannis Antetokounmpo.
And that, he did.
Horford surely frustrated The Greek Freak: Although Antetokounmpo finished with 22 points, he needed 21 shots to get there. The Milaukee Bucks All Star could not play freely like he normally does with his drives to the basket were shut off on a consistent basis.
Bleacher Report columnist and FS1 analyst, Ric Bucher told the Scoop B Radio Podcast that he had concerns about the Bucks. “The idea of them coming out of the East, I just, I don’t know that he’s quite ready for that,” Bucher told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
“Ultimately it ends up weighing on your best player. That’s where you’re going to go. And if Giannis isn’t your go-to guy, well Kris Middleton has been a great scorer. Is he the guy? Is he the guy who’s going to get you a bucket with the game on the line, a playoff game or a playoff series on the line? That’s the missing element that I see with the Bucks and it becomes a very important one when you get to the postseason.”
The Greek Freak is considered to be one of the top two candidates for league MVP along with James Harden.
“I’m just not convinced that Giannis, while everybody wants to say that he’s the best talent in the league,” says Bucher.
“I still think that he’s figuring out how to make the most of what he has around him.”
In the NBA’s regular season, Antetokounmpo averaged 31 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks against the Boston Celtics, all while shooting 60 percent from the floor. But it is a new game now in the NBA Playoffs; the Bucks were listed as a 7.5-point home favorite.
Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks will get a second crack at the Celtics in Game 2 on Tuesday.