Antetokounmpo needs to double down to solve Lillard’s new disaster

Milwaukee Bucks alleviated alarming symptoms without addressing the cause. Adrian Griffin’s team got a much-needed win last night against the Chicago Bulls (118-109), but Damian Lillard’s issues still linger. For the former Blazer, who missed the previous game with an injury, the return game solved a new disaster: the 13th recital of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who must step up to the plate to settle the mess. –35 points on 13-for-22 shooting and 11 rebounds. .

Dame will once again face one of the worst teams in the NBA. Or, at least, he hinted that he believes that forming a duo with Antet still has a long way to go and is indefensible. The point guard had just 12 points on a 3-12 field goal pyro in 32 minutes, couldn’t even fix it as a playmaker, and although he had five assists, he also lost five. Lillard is averaging 22 points on 40% field goal shooting and 29% 3-point shooting this season, by far the lowest shooting percentages of his career.

This is the kind of hole where Giannis has to push himself to unexpected limits, including a stepback triple. If the Greek already struggles with his long-distance stance, there’s little point in scoring from the perimeter, one of the most difficult ways to dribble.

Fortunately, old loyalists like Bobby Portis (19 points off the bench) and Khris Middleton (13 points) are always there, earning double MVP honors. However, having Jae Crowder out for eight weeks due to injury is another setback.

But far more serious is the situation of the Chicago Bulls, who have fallen into insignificance. The Illinois team missed the playoffs last year and hasn’t been able to get past the first round since the Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic era, losing in the conference semifinals in 2015, with more suffering than glory. A new season is about to begin. LeBron’s Cavaliers.

Billy Donovan’s team is 4-7, 12th in the East, far from sidelined, but with very negative sentiment, and the days of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are coming to an end. ing. Vucevic had 26 points on 3-14 shooting, LaVine had 20 points and DeRozan had 11 points in front of the basket. Like Lillard with the Bucks, they still have time to fix that.