The Milwaukee Bucks debuted their star pairing of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard in a preseason win against the Los Angeles Lakers. Giannis and Dame’s performance prompted Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham to warn other teams in the NBA about arguably the best duo in the league.
“Best of luck to everyone else, the other 28 teams besides from ourselves that have to figure out how to stop that. I’m just happy we only have to see them twice in the regular season.”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham on Dame/Giannis duo: "Best of luck to everyone else, the other 28 teams besides from ourselves that have to figure out how to stop that. I’m just happy we only have to see them twice in the regular season."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) October 15, 2023
Giannis scored 16 points and eight rebounds in 15 minutes, shooting 7/10 from the field and even making his only three-point attempt of the game. Lillard had 14 points and four steals but shot a disappointing 3/10 from the field. His impact was felt regardless, as the combo play between Dame and Giannis seemed unstoppable.
The Milwaukee Bucks Will Play Through Damian Lillard
Even though Giannis may still be the best player on the Bucks, he is ready to start handing off responsibilities to his new superstar teammate. He doesn’t want to compete against Lillard, saying that their new point guard will have the ball in his hands the majority of the time, with Giannis looking to lighten his load.
“For me, now, I’m 28. I’m not a kid no more. You cannot have — obviously, you have to have friendly competition within your team to try to push one another and to be great and be better prepared for the game — but this is not, in no shape or form, any competition between me and him, who’s going to have the ball more. He will have the ball more and I trust, I believe he’s going to find me and not just me, he’s going to find our teammates and put us in the right position.”
Antetokounmpo has had the highest usage rate (38.4%) in the NBA for the last few seasons, somehow even beating out Luka Doncic on the Mavericks last season (37.5%).
Given that Antetokounmpo is a near seven-footer, having to create as well as score and defend has to have taken a toll on his body. Being able to play off-ball and zone in on defense instead of having to average over 30 points will be a nice change for Giannis.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Wants To Lower Immediate Expectations
Antetokounmpo knows how fickle the media can be when superstars like him and Lillard team up. As a result, he’s already working on reducing the lofty expectations already placed on the duo.
“We haven’t won anything. There’s going to be a lot of hype around us, but we haven’t done anything. We haven’t even played a game yet. So, we can talk about it all day, but at the end of the day, our actions speak louder than words. But we have an opportunity to do something great, and that’s exciting for me.”
We have never really seen a duo like this put together before. Lillard averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists last season while Antetokounmpo averaged 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 5.7 assists.
It’s hard to minimize two 30-point scorers teaming up on the same squad, so the expectations are going to be high and there’s nothing the pair can do about it. The only thing in their control is what they do on the court, so they’ll be hoping to find their chemistry as soon as possible.
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