Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks had a big test on Friday night when they faced the Utah Jazz is one of the most interesting games of the day. In the end, the Jazz beat the Bucks, 129-115, to continue their good streak in the league, winning 17 of their last 18 games, sitting at 21-5 in the Western Conference.
After blowing a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets last season, the Jazz are locked in this campaign, trying to bounce back and compete for a chance to play in the NBA Finals. They are doing a terrific job so far and that has earned them a lot of good comments. After the game was over, Giannis had big praise for the Jazz and the good job they’ve done so far, even calling them the best team in their conference.
“They are the best team in the West”, Giannis said, via ESPN’s Eric Woodyard.
“It just looks fun. Like when I watch them play, it looks fun, it looks easy,” Antetokounmpo said. “It looks simple. For sure, they look like us last year, and man, when you’re at that point and you’re playing with that confidence, you’re hard to beat for sure.”
Giannis recognized something in the Jazz that the Bucks had last year during the regular season. This team has a bright future ahead and the Greek player is well aware that what he saw at Vivint Arena should be a warning for the rest of the league. The Jazz had four players scoring 25+ points for the first time ever and that shows how great they play right now.
To make things more interesting, stats show that they are having a very similar season to the one they had in 1996-97, when Karl Malone and John Stockton took them to the NBA Finals against the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
1996-97 Jazz on Dec. 23:
• 20-6 record
• +9.1 Net Rating
• 4th offensively
• 7th defensively
2020-21 Jazz on Feb. 13:
• 21-5 record
• +8.7 Net Rating
• 4th offensively
• T-3rd defensively
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) February 13, 2021
This is very promising for the Jazz, who have a guard and a big man leading the way this year, too. It’s still too early to predict how this season will end for them but this team has everything to come out of the West and compete for the championship.
