Incumbent Bucks All-NBA superstar power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is already impressed by his new All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic details.
“At the end of the day. I feel like this is the first time in my career that I really don’t — I don’t want to say I don’t care because I care a lot — I don’t mind with my usage being [25%],” Antetokounmpo said. “I want him to be the primary point guard. He’s the point guard of this team.”
Neither Lillard nor Antetokounmpo is playing in Milwaukee’s ongoing preseason debut home matchup against the Bulls.
“So you got to give guys like him freedom, because he’s an artist, man,” Antetokounmpo continued. “He’s got to create art. And hopefully, when you’re next to him, you can also create your own art and then you create the art together.”
There’s more out of Milwaukee:
- With his 2023 All-Defensive First Team point guard Jrue Holiday now on the rival Celtics and longtime head coach Mike Budenholzer no longer with the club, Bucks center Brook Lopez is set to pilot the team on that side of the ball, writes Nehm in a separate piece. Lopez, who as Nehm noted finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, is adjusting to new first-time head coach Adrian Griffin. “I think the biggest thing is just pressuring the ball,” Griffin said. “We want to pressure the ball, one through five, and that’s a little different for Brook, who has kind of been the quarterback in the paint, but that’s going to be situational where we’re going to ask him to pressure the ball, but there are times where he’s going to be back.”
- Everyone on the Bucks, including the still-ailing Khris Middleton, suited up for a 5-on-5 practice Saturday, Griffin informed gathered journalists, per Nehm (Twitter link). That said, Middleton joined Antetokounmpo and Lillard on the Bucks’ bench Saturday, and did not partake in the team’s preseason opener.
- In case you missed it, Luke Adams assessed whether or not the Bucks would best their projected 54.5-win over/under for the 2023/24 season in a new poll.