Giannis Antetokounmpo ‘Evolved’ VS Celtics Despite Elimination

Giannis Antetokounmpo enjoyed an impressive series against Boston, but couldn’t send Milwaukee through to the conference finals on his own.

With a 109 – 81 Game 7 loss to the Celtics on Sunday, the defending champions crashed out of the playoffs.

In the absence of Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo took all the responsibility. According to his coach, he developed as a player throughout the course of the series.

The Boston Celtics defense ranked No.1 in efficiency during the regular NBA season. Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 33.9 points, 14.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists against them in seven games.

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Giannis had as many 40 point games against Boston as they conceded throughout the entire regular season. As well as that, he became the first player in history to score 200 points, have 100 rebounds and 50 assists during a playoff series.

However, it wasn’t enough and the absence of Middleton was keenly felt. Milwaukee scored less than 100 points in three out of the seven games. 

As well as that, Milwaukee scored 53 less three pointers than Boston, which is the largest gap in postseason history. 

“We could’ve used [Middleton], definitely could’ve used him,” Bucks guard Jrue Holiday said. “He makes big shots and big plays on both ends, but especially offensively.”

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“The way Giannis evolved through the series, the way Giannis played against a very good defensive team, against a lot of good individual defenders was like another one of those growth moments and growth plate opportunities,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I thought he was phenomenal — his scoring, his attacking, his playmaking, his unselfishness.

“There’s always going to be one or two times where we could’ve been better, he could’ve been better, but I would say as the series progressed I was beyond impressed with him and how he kind of figured out how to attack, how to score, how to playmake, how to do all those things. We didn’t get it done, and he’s a big part of that, but I’m beyond impressed by how he progressed through the series.”