That was a performance Shaq would be proud of. The Milwaukee Bucks have dropped to 11-4 on the season with their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers as Giannis missed 11 free throws in a dreadful shooting performance.
Wow, I don’t think Giannis Antetokounmpo could have had a worse night from the free throw line if he tried.
It was painfully watching him do his overexaggerated, nonsensical free-throw warmup every time he stepped up to the line to just miss each attempt. How do you go 4/15 from the line? Unless your name is Shaquille O’Neal, there’s no excuse for being so bad at the ‘easiest’ (statically) shooting opportunity in basketball.
In Giannis’ defense, those ruthless Philly fans (who were jeering him all night) really got into his head as his 27% free throw shooting percentage was the only reason why the Bucks lost that game. Those eleven would-be points would have put the Bucks up 113-110. So, in other words, that win last night should be credited to the Philly fans.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch as the 76ers played pretty well too. Despite not having James Harden and Tyrell Maxey going down early with an injury, the 76ers still out shot the Bucks from the field, the arc, and the free throw line. Joel Embiid carried the 76ers on his back as he bullied the Bucks frontcourt (including Giannis on occasion) around the rim, helping him finish with a season-high 32 PTS, 11 REB, and 8 AST.
The Bucks had no answers for Embiid as he proved that he’s still in the MVP conversation, even though the 76ers have been struggling mightily this season. I’m not sure he’ll be able to will Philly into the playoffs without Harden and Maxey (who went down with a troubling ankle injury), but the Play-In Round is definitely viable.
Yet, having to face off against the Nets and Heat (the two teams currently in the 9th and 10th spots, respectively) in a winner-take-all game just to make it into the playoffs is obviously less than ideal. So, Harden better come back quickly from his ‘tendon strain’ (seriously? A multi-weeklong foot-tendon strain injury? Harden is made of glass) or else the 76ers will be too far behind the 6th seed to avoid the Play-In fate.
As for the Bucks, they just had a bad game. Well, more specifically, Giannis just had a bad game.
Despite having 25 PTS, 14 REB, and 4 AST, Giannis looked off all night long as the rest of the Bucks roster tried to pick up the slack. Bobby Portis went off for 21 PTS, 11 REB, and 3 AST, while Jrue Holiday had a good game coming off the bench with 10 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST in just 23 minutes. But it was all for naught as the injury-battered Philly roster was just too strong on the night.
Once Kris Middleton comes back from his injury (if he ever does as he’s now been out since late April), this Bucks team will go on a tear and secure either the 1st or 2nd seed in the East. It will come down to the Bucks and the Celtics as for who will be the Eastern Conference’s representative in the NBA Finals…once again.
Oh, and did anyone see Giannis and that stadium worker with the ladder after the game? I don’t know what that 5′ 10 guy was thinking in messing with the 7-foot giant that is Giannis, and especially when he’s angry. Though, it was pretty funny watching him placing the ladder right in front of Giannis as he was trying to practice his free throws.
Only in Philly, right?
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