Giannis Antetokounmpo is striving to bring the Milwaukee Bucks back into championship contention with his strong play recently.
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The Milwaukee Bucks have been touted by many fans, analysts and commentators as perhaps the best team in basketball this year. They were voted as the preseason championship favorites with 6.5:1 odds.
Their play through two-thirds of the season makes this prediction look quite accurate, at least thus far. They started the season off with a blistering 9-0 streak.
Since then, they have cooled off, but their 27-17 record over the past 3 months is nothing to scoff at. They stuttered for a while in between, losing their grip at the top of the Conference.
However, they battled back in the absence of Giannis to claw back to the 2nd seed. They currently stand at 2nd in the Conference, only 1 game in the loss column behind the league-leading Celtics.
Yup, here come the Bucks! 2 All Stars, Middleton working his way back and Brook has has been a presence. I see em…https://t.co/RUZzyKAVc4 pic.twitter.com/cbGsOlUX9m
— Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG) February 4, 2023
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Jrue Holiday set a record, becoming the first NBA All-Star to be voted into the game 10 years after his previous selection. And ever since Khris Middleton has come back from his injury, the Bucks have gone 7-0.
But all good things about the team start and finish, predictably, with their 2-time MVP. Giannis Antetokounmpo can put the fear of God in his opponents like no other player in the league today.
Is Giannis Antetokounmpo playing tonight vs Portland TrailBlazers?
Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a bunch of games with knee soreness back in January. He has come back to their lineup since, to devastating effect for the Bucks’ opponents. But it seems that the issue isn’t entirely gone from his body.
The Bucks have listed the Greek Freak as one of 3 players on their injury report. The reason they have cited for placing Giannis there is, once again, soreness in his right knee. It is unclear just how much it’s hampering him.
The Bucks submitted an injury report for Monday’s game against the Trail Blazers.
OUT: Serge Ibaka, Bobby Portis
Probable:
Giannis Antetokounmpo (right knee soreness)— Amulya Shekhar (@tweet_amulya) February 6, 2023
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Giannis stats this season
Giannis Antetokounmpo is having the best scoring season of his life, going by volume numbers. Playing 33.6 minutes per contest, Giannis is averaging 32.4 points per game – 2.5 points higher than his previous career high.
He also leads the league in rebounding this season, averaging 12.4 boards per game. Giannis adds 5.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game.
However, there are some signs that he’s a bit off his career best. His true shooting percentage of 58.9% is a 6-year low. He’s also shooting free throws worse than before, making only 64.4% of his attempts.
His stocks (steals + blocks) per game are also at a career low, despite him playing his highest minutes per game during the Mike Budenholzer era. In addition, his turnover average is by far the highest of his career at 4.0 per game.
