Giannis Antetokounmpo was great in the Bucks’ win over the Magic (118-114), finishing the game with 37 points and 10 rebounds. After the game, he emphasized that Milwaukee needs to improve, adding that he plans to bring his family and friends to New York for Christmas (the Bucks play the Knicks twice and the Nets once in consecutive games).

The “Greek Freak” even mentioned that he would like help finding cheap Broadway tickets after seeing that they cost $450 each and he wants… $25 to cover his needs.

Giannis explained in detail:

On what it means for the Bucks to win an ugly game: “Bad or good game, what matters is the win. We have 6 wins in a row and now we have two road games in a row against good teams like the Knicks, the Cavaliers. It’s good that we got this victory, in general, that we got 6 home wins in a row. It is a good feeling. It’s always good when you manage to do that because everyone is happy and you spend time with your family.

That’s why it doesn’t matter whether it’s a beautiful victory or an ugly victory, but rather whether we have developed good habits. Sometimes we managed that today, sometimes we didn’t because we were in the wrong place. We made difficult shots, we need to give our team more easy shots. We have to understand that we have good players in the team. If two players mark me, Lopez or Portis, we have to finish the phases, the same goes for Lillard on the perimeter.

A win is a win. It was a bad game, mainly because we didn’t develop good habits. I hope we play better against the Knicks in New York.”

Whether his strong start to the game (sp 13 points in the first period) was due to the fact that he thought he would enter the field with power and find the Magic defense unprepared: “I just wanted to be aggressive. Obviously when I’m running I can get some easy shots in transition. I just wanted to do something. Sometimes I went all the way inside, sometimes I made shots for other people.”

I didn’t start the game thinking about running up and down eight times and getting out of breath. That’s exactly how the game played at the beginning. We got outshot 12-2, but the Magic came back, played zone and took a 9 point lead. Orlando is a good team, they are not the team they were years ago, they have improved a lot. They know how to play, they know how to score, they have big bodies, they have improved.”

About his foot problems and how he overcame them: “How do you know that? Was it in the medical record? This medical report… Sometimes things happen in the NBA and you’re not 100%. I just want to Play. This summer I ate a lot of chips and popcorn and watched a lot of Netflix because I couldn’t move (ss because of his injury). For the first time I couldn’t strengthen my national team.

I’m trying it now that, even if I’m not 100% ready, I’m ready to play because I don’t take it for granted. I don’t know why my leg hurt, maybe someone stepped on me. However, it doesn’t matter. I’m available and I really want it, because this year I didn’t play basketball in the offseason, but fell on the floor in early September. Then I succeeded. I’m happy playing with my teammates and playing in the NBA.

About how he will celebrate Christmas while the Bucks play two games on the road against the Knicks (December 23rd and 25th) and the Nets (December 27th).: “I have two things to say. First I will bring my family, my children (ss in New York). This day is beautiful not only for me, but for everyone. For my brothers. Everyone will be there and we will have a party.

Maybe we’ll go to Broadway in a play, maybe I’ll see that “Michael Jackson” show I saw years ago. Thanasis wants to watch Harry Potter. If anyone can help me with the tickets I would be grateful because I saw the prices and they were around $450. I don’t know if I can do this for 25 people. But my children, friends, my mother, Alex will be there. This way we can celebrate Christmas. We’re going to the Knicks game and then the Nets game, everyone will be there.

On whether he has anything on his wish list: “I’m not the type of person to focus on those things. I consider myself blessed with what I have. All I want is health for myself and our people.”

He believes the Bucks are at 1/4 of the way through the season: “We have to improve. We are good, but we have to improve. Defensively and offensively, things have to happen automatically. To be on the same wavelength. This happens every now and then, but not always. Our talent helps us and that’s a good thing. , because we also win bad games.

But we still have steps ahead of us. I think there will be a moment when we all believe in our team. Everyone in our dressing room has great confidence in the team. But there comes a moment when you really believe you can do it. We’re not there yet. This will take a long time and we may not be successful. But let’s see where we are after 25 more games.

For a team where not everyone agrees, a 21-7 record is pretty good. We have a new coach and new players. It’s not bad. Personally, I don’t care about our balance sheet. This has nothing to do with our goal, which is to be on the same page on both sides of the floor, believe in our plan and believe in ourselves, what each of us is good at, and be consistent.

The hope is that everything clicks at the right time. Do not get me wrong. I want to play to win. Wins over the Spurs and Magic give us a chance to go home and drink wine. Not me, I don’t drink, I talk in general. We can go home, drink wine, eat steak and sleep. But everyone’s goal is to end up where we want to be. So we have to keep working.”