“I kept saying to my teammates, we’re fighting for our lives,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo recently, amidst the Milwaukee Bucks’ final stretch of the regular season. Fans of the ‘Greek Freak’ would clearly remember how the player’s absence in last year’s post-season prevented the team from going far. That déjà vu needs to be prevented from occurring this time around. While Giannis himself is making the most of this final stretch, he is also relying on his teammates to do their part. However, it is hard for them to do so if they do not fully take in Antetokounmpo’s instructions.
The Milwaukee Bucks recently defeated the New Orleans Pelicans to take their ongoing win streak up to 6. During the post-game presser, a reporter highlighted that Giannis has been, for the last few games, demanding urgency from his teammates. When Kyle Kuzma was asked about how the team responded to this call, he replied, “I think we did, you know, in the 3rd quarter tonight. I think we did, in the 2nd half. Really the last, really a quarter-and-a-half of the 2nd half last game. So, I think we can do a lot better. We can be a lot better, a lot more sharper. A lot more urgent, you know, collectively”.
Through Kuzma’s remarks, we understood that the team did take in Giannis’s advice. They just could not implement what he asked them to do throughout the whole game.
The 2x MVP made a jumper to start the scoring, but that was the Bucks’ only lead in the 1st quarter. Then, Matkovic’s 3-pointer started the 2nd quarter scoring, and New Orleans was leading by 8 points a 2nd time in the same game! Fortunately, Milwaukee began making a push then. Antetokounmpo scored 6 points, while Taurean Prince’s 3-pointer gave the Bucks a 47-46 lead.
In the end, Giannis was able to conclude his run with 28 points, while Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., and Kyle Kuzma made 20, 17, and 17 points, respectively. Sure, the team won the game by a 136-111 score. However, a quicker start and urgency is something that the Bucks squad still needs to work on. After all, the playoffs won’t leave them with much time to experiment.
This wasn’t the first time Giannis Antetokounmpo asked his teammates to be more urgent on the court. Back in February 2024, the Bucks had been 3–7 since Doc Rivers took over as coach. As they head into the All-Star break, major questions still need to be answered. After a shocking loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Giannis Antetokounmpo was in front of his locker, with a pair of ice bags wrapped around his knees and a frustrated look on his face. “We have to want it, We have to want it” was what he kept saying.
Later, he added, “We have to have more urgency. I want to feel this urgency. I don’t say it for my team, I say it for myself.”
Mar 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) reacts in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
This year, with a 46-34 win record to their name, the Bucks squad has certainly shown that they want it. All they now need to do is fix some chinks in the armor.
With just a few more games remaining, one can expect Giannis to get stricter. Same goes for coach Doc Rivers, as seen from the recent expectations he laid on his players.
Doc Rivers wants Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. to match Detroit’s intensity in the upcoming matchup
Seneca Crane, from The Hunger Games, once said ‘Everyone likes an underdog’. The Detroit Pistons have shown us that this season. The team was dead last in the previous 2 NBA tournaments. Now, the squad holds the 6th seed. It has tripled its win total from last season and even secured its first playoff berth since 2018-19. Since March 5th, however, the team has recorded an 8-9 win score. They have to prove themselves again. The Pistons’ upcoming home game against Giannis and Co. provides just that. Therefore, Doc Rivers is not willing to take the upcoming matchup on an easy basis.
During his post-game presser, the Bucks head coach stated that the upcoming Bucks-Pistons game is basically “the first part of the Play-In”. After all, the Bucks need at least 1 out of 2 wins to hold their 5th seed. On a personal level, Doc Rivers is looking forward to the game, since he knows the crowd in Detroit will be amazing. As for the team itself, “They are gonna play hard, and they’re gonna play well, and we are gonna have to match it. I couldn’t have asked for a better scenario going into the playoffs than this. So, you know, it’s pretty good.”
Oct 23, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers talks with forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The Milwaukee Bucks hold a 10-0 win record against the Detroit Pistons. Giannis and co won the last game, back in December 2024, by a 21-point margin. Therefore, in some cases, it shouldn’t be questioned who will win. However, things can change the closer the playoffs get. Therefore, nothing could be left to chance.
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