Milwaukee - The Bucks returned home in a less-than-pleasant position for Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals, when the Suns won the opening two of this best-of-seven event in Phoenix.
But if one judges the condition of the Bucks solely by how superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has met his media obligations, it would be easy to assume that the Milwaukee team is in dire straits going into Sunday night's Game 3. Instead of facing no one in two games here at the Fischer Forum.
For example, take Saturday afternoon. Antetokounmpo, on both knees and wearing a heavy bag of snow with no shoes on, headed for the podium, looked at the assembled media and said with a smile, "It's going to be fun." Then, when asked the first question of his season, he initially looked ahead and only offered, "I'm here just not to take the penalty," parroting former NFL star Marshawn Lynch's famous statement, with a big grin. Before flashing and telling everyone - twice - he was joking.
And later, when Antetokounmpo was asked about his upbeat mood amid the situation in Milwaukee, he said it was his way of processing what's happening, as opposed to conveying the gravity of the situation - playing in the NBA Finals. . First time and 2-0 back in the series - weigh in on that.
"You know, I personally think, obviously, I know it's the final. Like yesterday, we all understand what kind of game we're getting into," Antetokounmpo said. "So, we know what we have to do. But at the end of the day, you have to keep it light. You can't tell yourself, 'Oh, this is the final. You have to do it. There's so much pressure, man.' No, as if it's still basketball. It's easy to say, hard to do; but at the same time, you have to try to look at it that way. Just keep it light. The ball has to be light. You have to keep the atmosphere light. .
"Once we go out there and you see the fans, you know you understand what kind of game you're in. But to me, personally, the one thing that helps me is it Keeping it light and enjoying it. Knowing that I enjoy things, I really, like to put my heart into it. If I don't enjoy it, I'm just going through the motions. So, I enjoy it Try to take, enjoy it, try to enjoy that I'm here. We've come a long way to be in this position, and we've got to try to make the best out of it. That's what I did We did, I think, in the first round, in the second round, in the third round. What will we do now and hopefully it will work in our favour."
One thing that remained consistent for Antetokounmpo on Saturday, almost every time he's sat in front of the media in recent memory, was emphasizing two things every time he hits the court: enjoying himself. take and compete. And despite being down this series, he felt like he was able to achieve both of those things in Milwaukee's two defeats in Phoenix.
As for the Bucks, having Antetokounmpo on the court after his ugly fall in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the Atlanta Hawks—a play that Antetokounmpo previously said he initially believed would keep him out for a year, But instead it only cost him a week - there is a reason for optimism.
So has the fact that Milwaukee has been in this situation before. Only a month earlier the Bucks had come home after losing the first two games of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Brooklyn Nets, only to win four of the remaining five games.
And while it doesn't exactly suit this position, it does give the Bucks the muscle memory and confidence to know that they are capable of coming back and winning the title.
Bucks guard Chris Middleton said, "A lot of people thought our season was done," where the team stood in the Nets series. "We still believed in ourselves. We came back and had an ugly, grind-out game that we found a way to win.
"Sometimes, it's not going to be pretty. Sometimes, it's going to be ugly. We have to find a way to win one game at a time from here."
While part of the Bucks turning this series would start with both Middleton and Jure Holiday, in a way they were unable to overall in both games in Phoenix—particularly in Game 2, during which they won a combined 12-for. Shooting -37 off the ground -- Antetokounmpo playing the same way again will go a long way in getting Milwaukee back in this series.
His stat line from Game 1 was impressive - 20 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 35 minutes - but Antetokounmpo took only 11 shots and was not his usual offensive self in the transition. In Game 2, however, Antetokounmpo was excellent, finishing on 15-for-22 shooting with 42 points with 12 rebounds, four assists, one steal, and three blocks in 40 minutes; He just got what he wanted.
And while Antetokounmpo wasn't willing to say anything noticeable about his game changes from Game 1 to Game 2, he admitted that he's growing "more comfortable" with the midrange game he's trying to develop. is. This was part of his success in Game 2.
"I'm more comfortable," he said. "I'm trying not to think about it. Now that you said this, I can go tomorrow and remember them because of you. But no, I feel more comfortable. I'm just aggressive Trying to be, trying to go downhill. Sometimes, people stand in front of me or they build a wall that doesn't allow me to get in the paint. So, you have to try other ways to be effective Trying to figure out whether it's passing the ball or doing a pull up for a midrange jump shot or getting to a spot and then shooting at them.
"But you have to figure out the ways to be effective. Sometimes, you're going to make them. Sometimes, you're going to miss them. But you have to stay aggressive. My mindset is always going to go downhill." tries, tries to make the right play, the right decision, either he's pass, or he's scoring. But like I said, sometimes you have to take those shots. You have to guess the defense. But I feel comfortable, and hopefully going forward, I can feel more comfortable in those shots and be even more effective."