The Milwaukee Bucks went through an unmitigated disaster of a first-round series loss at the hands of the eighth-seed Miami Heat last night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo brushed off the season being called a failure, a comment that irked many people including Kendrick Perkins. Perkins said that the season was a complete failure, regardless of what Giannis said. Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. seems to agree, tweeting out a ‘100’ emoji to Perkins’ comments.
— Jabari Smith Jr (@jabarismithjr) April 27, 2023
Many players may not like what Giannis said about their season not being a failure, which is understandable. Losing to an eighth seed as the best record in the league in itself is shocking. When you remember that the Heat were without Tyler Herro, their regular-season leader in scoring, the loss looks even worse.
Jabari Smith Jr. shouldn’t be the ones talking about expectations given he just finished his rookie season on one of the worst teams in the NBA. There are many levels between Jabari and Giannis still and the young Rockets’ forward should prioritize improving his play before criticizing someone like Giannis.
Will Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Legacy Be Affected By This Loss?
Everyone understands that Giannis essentially played just three games in the series, with him getting hurt through the first half of Game 1. The issue is that even when Giannis played, the Bucks couldn’t close wins out. Their sole win of the series came when Giannis was not playing.
Game 5 saw Giannis have a monster statline of 38 points and 20 rebounds but that doesn’t tell the whole story. He flubbed defensive rotations, shot 10-23 from the free-throw line, and almost caused turnovers because he didn’t want to be fouled with the ball in his hand.
Now that even a rookie is talking like this about him, Antetokounmpo better comes out next season with the fire to reclaim his title as the best player in the world, because that crown has definitively been knocked off his head this season.
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