Giannis Antetokounmpo Returns, but the Bucks’ Future Is Anything but Certain

A farewell tour?

Or maybe a taste of things to come.

Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the Bucks’ lineup on Monday, playing 25 minutes in what was, frankly, a pretty embarrassing blowout 108–81 loss to undermanned Boston. In his first action in five-ish weeks, Antetokounmpo collected a respectable 19 points and 11 rebounds. The strength was there, the usual burst wasn’t, all of which was fairly predictable for a player coming off (another) calf injury.

“I feel a little bit rusty,” Antetokounmpo said. “Obviously, did not play well tonight, but at the end of the day, I’m just happy that I’m out there, being able to help my teammates in any way that I can and just do what I love. Which is play basketball.”

Milwaukee has 22 games left in its season, which makes you wonder: What is Antetokounmpo doing out there? The Bucks are 3 ½ games back of the final play-in spot, not an insurmountable deficit but not one the deer should be going all out to close, either. Whatever happens with Antetokounmpo this summer, Milwaukee needs an infusion of young talent, the kind aided more by ping-pong ball combinations than wins.

Antetokounmpo sees it differently. Clearly, he has not given up on this Bucks season. The 22 games Milwaukee has left, said Antetokounmpo, should be treated “like [22] Finals.” Take them one game at a time, he said. In his mind, the Bucks can creep into the play-in, win their way into the playoffs and maybe, maybe, make a move in a conference that’s as weak as it’s been in a generation.

“We just got to come out [with] high intensity,” Antetokounmpo said. “Hopefully I can be in a better rhythm, have the team better and try to win the next one.”

Possible? Maybe. The Bucks went 9–3 in February, collecting wins over Oklahoma City, Miami and Cleveland. Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. averaged 21 points per game during that stretch. Cam Thomas, signed off the street, put up 14. Even without Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee had a top-10 offensive rating.

Over the last three games, the offense has stalled. The Bucks have failed to put up 100 points in any of them. Against Boston, which was without Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta, Milwaukee could muster only 81. “We’ve kind of lost our way,” said Bucks coach Doc Rivers. “And I think it’s on both ends. I think offensively, we had a great rhythm. And we’ve done it in spurts in the last three games [but] we haven’t been able to sustain it.”

The Bucks need to find that rhythm. Antetokounmpo, too. He was on a minutes restriction against Boston and will be for the foreseeable future. Practice time this late in the season is limited. That’s less time for Antetokounmpo to build chemistry with a roster that has changed since he went out.

“It’s a struggle,” Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like the team plays at its best when everybody’s connected, right? When everybody’s on the same page and everybody wants the same thing … I’ve never played with [Ousmane Dieng]. I haven’t played with Cam. I’ve played with Jericho [Sims], but at times, so we’re going to get back in the rhythm, but it’s going to be a game at a time.

“Right now, I’m just trying to get back in the rhythm. Being able to not play for six weeks and the second time that I’ve actually played against contact was today. And I feel like the more I’m in shape, the more I have my wind under me, the more I can be able to help my team.

“And not just be a better basketball player, just be more vocal. The more you’re trying to figure out yourself in your spots and try to figure out how you play with your teammates, the more you kind of cave into yourself and you’re not as vocal, you do not control the game as much. And I think right now I’m at that place. I’m trying to figure out myself.”

Sitting out, Antetokounmpo said, was never an option. But he needed to be cautious. After the injury, he self-diagnosed a four-to-six-week recovery time. For years, Antetokounmpo has pushed the limits of his body. Bounced back faster than medical expectations. Pushed himself, sometimes too far, to get back.

“I’m just stubborn,” said Antetokounmpo. “I have a lot of smart people around me that tell me the truth, they tell me what to do. But at the end of the day, I’ve been in this position in life by fighting through things and by just listening to my gut and fighting through adversity. Sometimes that’s smart, sometimes it’s not smart. Sometimes that has helped me be in a very good position and sometimes it [put] me to be in a bad position. So again, things that I can do in the past, maybe I can’t do no more.”

So what’s changed?

“I just got to be smarter,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m not old, but I’m older for sure. When you deal with a lot of soft tissue injuries, it’s hard. I’ve been dealing with knee pain in the past. It’s totally different. If you’re not able to take care of your soft tissue injuries, they can linger. And I think that’s what has happened this year.

“I feel like I’ve been playing the whole year with like a deficit. When you imagine it’s a bank account and you’re at, I don’t know, minus $50, right? And you come back and you’re plus $10 and then all of a sudden you go back minus-15 and you just keep on playing, which is not good. You just got to fill the tank, try to get as much as you can, like get your nutrition right, get your weights right, get as much load as you can through practice, through the weight room, be able to run in the treadmill for, I don’t know, for 20, 30, 40 minutes because when you come and play in the game, then the game doesn’t feel as hard.

“But again, I feel like I’ve been playing just a deficit this whole year and now this is the first time that I feel like I have a little bit in my tank that I’m not risking anything, so I’m happy that I’m here.”

Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee remains uncertain. The Bucks passed on trade offers before last month’s deadline but those offers will certainly come again in the offseason. And more. The team and its star are headed for more hard conversations. For now, Antetokounmpo wants to focus on winning. And maybe make one more improbable run.

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