Damian Lillard Says He, Giannis Talk More in 2024 Without Doc Rivers or Anybody Else
November 8, 2024
While the Milwaukee Bucks may be struggling on the court, the chemistry between its biggest stars appears to only be growing.
The Bucks are currently 2-6 and will need a significant momentum shift to recover lost ground. This has come despite strong play from forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and guard Damian Lillard.
Antetokonmpo has averaged 31 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists in seven games thus far while Lillard is averaging 28.4 points, 6.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds in eight games. While this hasn't translated to team success, Antetokounmpo spoke about the growth the two have had.
"I feel like we're getting more comfortable with one another," Antetokounmpo said, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. "We're not letting guys off the hook when we play, me and him."
Lillard also spoke about the chemistry between the two and how "natural" the connection has become, even without head coach Doc Rivers being involved.
"It's a lot more natural as far as I'm seeing it and feeling it," Lillard said Thursday about their chemistry. "Last year everybody was like oh they got to play two-man, you got to do this and in practice it was so scripted all the time.
"Just time, reps and us just getting to know each other, now we're just having a lot of communication among the two of us, without Doc or without anybody else. And talking about what I want him to do, what I see. And he'll tell me what he's trying to do, what he sees."
Bobby Portis is the only other Bucks player averaging more than 10 points, and the top-heavy nature of the roster has caused the team to struggle against others with a more diverse rotation.
This comes after the team fell in the first round in each of the last two seasons and the contention window appears to be dwindling. Milwaukee did capture a championship in 2020-21, and the addition of Lillard should have only extended that window.
While a turnaround is certainly possible, rumors surrounding Antetokounmpo's trade availability show that further struggles could necessitate a drastic change.
