© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
A frustrated Giannis Antetokounmpo calls out the team after a pair of embarrassing losses
Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn’t hide his frustration after the Milwaukee Bucks suffered a humiliating 110-113 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night.
Giannis unhappy with the team’s effort
The Greek Freak questioned if the Bucks really have the desire to win after they suffered two straight losses against teams that were missing a group of key players.
“We have to want it, man. Like, enough with the talking. Enough with the, 'our (expletive) don’t stink' mentality. Do we really want it? Are we putting in the work, are we gonna put in the effort, are we going to fight for what we think we deserve or what the goals we’re trying to accomplish? That is the most important thing,” said Giannis.
On Tuesday, the Bucks absorbed a 97-123 loss to the Miami Heat. The Heat played without Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, and Josh Richardson, but they still dominated the match and led by as many as 31 points.
The Bucks were heavily favored in their next meeting when they went up against a Grizzlies team, missing ten key players, including Ja Morant, Marcus Smart, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane.
Things are looking bleak
The problem in those twin losses was that the Bucks were outworked, Giannis said. Antetokounmpo said the Bucks cannot keep on making excuses and should instead start playing hard.
“The guys are tired. Maybe it’s an excuse. New coach. Excuse. New system. Excuse. New defense. Excuse. All these, it's an excuse. At the end of the day, are you going to try to play basketball, try to compete? They competed harder than us (Thursday), they competed harder than us (Tuesday),” said Giannis.
The Bucks are just 3-7 under Doc Rivers, and with how the team has been playing, Giannis’ prognosis for the team isn’t rosy.
“We are not on track of what we are trying to do,” Antetokounmpo bluntly assessed.
