Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo expressed his frustrations after the team's loss to a shorthanded Denver Nuggets squad
The Denver Nuggets have dealt with a serious case of the injury bug this season, with all five of their opening night starters suffering a multi-week injury, with the season not even halfway through. On Sunday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, it was Aaron Gordon who was the only healthy starter from the Nuggets' opening night starting five.
For the Bucks, they had nearly a fully healthy team, with Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way in the middle with Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins as the lead guards on the perimeter. While it seemed set up for a Bucks win, the Nuggets once again defied the odds, defending their home court with a 108-104 victory.
Giannis Voices Frustrations
Giannis ended the contest with 31 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds, to go along with two blocks and a steal on a night where he was +16 in 33 minutes. However, the rest of the team was rather underwhelming. Excluding his 10-of-17 shooting night, the Bucks shot 41% from the field, with Porter Jr. and Rollins having rough shooting nights.
After the game, Giannis was straight to the point about his frustrations.
"We just got to be better. Overall, as a team. We got to be better. We got to be able to control a lead. Got to be able to not give teams like runs. Yeah, we just got to be better," he said.
Milwaukee finished its road trip with a 2-2 record, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers being the most impressive performance of the group. However, still sitting at just 17-22 on the season, the Bucks can't afford to drop games like these against a depleted Nuggets team if they want to get into the playoff race.
What Could Be Next For Milwaukee?
As the trade deadline approaches on February 5th, the Bucks might be one of the most talked-about teams in the lead-up. Whether it's trying to go after a star guard like Ja Morant or LaMelo Ball, or adding different starting-caliber pieces to their team, it seems as though the Giannis trade situation has calmed down, and the team needs to go all-in with him.
The upcoming schedule for the Bucks is tough through the end of the month, so it'll be an uphill battle for them to climb back up to .500 on the season. As long as they can stay healthy, they'll be doing one part right, but might need some more pieces to the puzzle.