{"id":296721,"date":"2021-07-12T07:33:22","date_gmt":"2021-07-12T04:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-imposed-his-will-on-nba-finals\/"},"modified":"2021-07-12T07:33:22","modified_gmt":"2021-07-12T04:33:22","slug":"bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-imposed-his-will-on-nba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-imposed-his-will-on-nba-finals\/","title":{"rendered":"#Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo imposed his will on NBA Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo imposed his will on NBA Finals<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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This was one for the preachers and practitioners of the old school, for those who\u2019d started to believe basketball\u2019s modern affinity for 3-point shootouts and drive-and-kick artistry had neutralized the need for a dominant big man.<\/p>\n

Big Men dominated the conversation for the sport\u2019s first century, after all, and usually all it took was a single name to illustrate the authority: Mikan and Russell. Wilt and Kareem. Shaq and Hakeem. Patrick. Moses. Walton.<\/p>\n

And, now: Giannis.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s really no understating what Giannis Antetokounmpo did Sunday night. He saved the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 season. He rescued these NBA Finals from becoming the one-sided bore they threatened to be after the first 96 minutes. Mostly, he honored every ounce of his skill and his talent and his power.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just doing whatever it takes to help us, he\u2019s of an aggressive mindset but he passed well, did a little bit of everything,\u201d Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said after watching his star post 41 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, powering Milwaukee to a thorough 120-100 demolition of the Suns in Game<\/a> 3 of the Finals, allowing the Bucks to hold serve at home, permitting them to resume dreams of winning their first NBA championship in the 50 years since Kareem (then Lew Alcindor) made that happ<\/a>en for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a lot from him,\u201d Budenholzer said, \u201cand he delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Giannis
Giannis Antetokounmpo dunks the ball during Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Sunday.<\/figcaption>
Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The one truth of Big Men that\u2019s persisted through the generations is the reality they alone are capable of delivering the most simple premise of critical, essential basketball games: when they choose to, they can refuse to let their teams lose. It is the product of being larger than life in a game populated by larger-than-life characters.<\/p>\n

It is one thing to be a dominant player; even Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and Larry Bird had games where they simply couldn\u2019t buy a basket. It\u2019s something else to be a dominant force. That\u2019s what has always separated the elite centers from the rest in a game that used to exist from inside out. You can contain a player, even a great one.<\/p>\n

A force is something else.<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo was a force Sunday, start to finish, beginning to end, insisting that his teammates get involved (four of his assists came in the first quarter) and he was everywhere: finishing drives, clearing the glass, occupying space in the middle, even making his foul shots (13-for-17).<\/p>\n

It meant back-to-back 40-point explosions for Antetokounmpo, and when it was pointed out that back in 1993, against the Suns, Michael Jordan reached that plateau four straight games \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not Michael Jordan,\u201d he said sheepishly. \u201cI\u2019m not Michael Jordan. All I care about right now is one more game. One more win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bucks were desperate, and Milwaukee was even more so. Fiserv Forum was abuzz from the opening tip, and the masses outside were engaged. No city better understands the eternal value of the Big Man, of course. The Bucks went from 27 wins to 66 wins and a title in the two years after Kareem arrived. They were perennial stones in the shoes of the Celtics and Sixers in the \u201880s once they installed Bob Lanier in the middle.<\/p>\n

\"Bucks\"
Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/figcaption>
AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And now they have Antetokounmpo, two-time MVP, who before this year was never quite able to push the Bucks out of the East. Even during this splendid spring, it seemed the focus had settled more on Antetokounmpo\u2019s shortcomings than his strengths. He isn\u2019t the perfect player, and doesn\u2019t claim to be.<\/p>\n

Against the Nets he looked vulnerable, and Kevin Durant took great delight in tormenting him. He was hurt against the Hawks, and watched his teammates deliver him to his first Finals in street clothes \u2014 every bit as excited in civvies as he would\u2019ve been in uniform.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not 100 percent,\u201d Antetokounmpo said, \u201cbut I watched my teammates play good basketball and gave me a chance to come back at the end of the day that\u2019s all I can ask for.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s healthy now, and whatever percentage he ascribes his knee he\u2019s playing at his peak \u2014 a peak far different than just about anyone else\u2019s in the game. He wants to get to the basket, he gets to the basket. He wants to grab a rebound, he grabs it. Forces do that. They aren\u2019t governed as others are, by the laws of physics and physical limitation. As the game has gotten smaller, we forget just how important the Big Man is.<\/p>\n

Giannis, first-name force, has reminded us. And we have a Finals because of it.\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo imposed his will on NBA Finals” This was one for the preachers and practitioners of the old school, for those who\u2019d started to believe basketball\u2019s modern affinity for 3-point shootouts and drive-and-kick artistry had neutralized the need for a dominant big man. Big Men dominated the conversation for the sport\u2019s first century,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":296722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/1233933171.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[111664,71376,80295,111493,88404],"class_list":["post-296721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-7-12-21","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-milwaukee-bucks","tag-nba-finals-2021","tag-phoenix-suns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}