This was an embarrassing performance for Giannis in the second-half

Just looking at the stats, Giannis Antetokounmpo had a great game for the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring 34 points on 14-22 shooting, grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists, but this was a very embarrassing performance for Giannis in the second-half. 

While he did score 17 points in the second-half, Antetokounmpo played extremely passive and it honestly looked like he was being controlled by a remote controller held by head coach Mike Budenholzer. This cannot happen in Game 6 and Giannis should not want this to happen! 

Now, I am not saying that Giannis should not listen to his coaches and what they want from him on the court, but at some point, he needs to have an epiphany in the Bucks’ huddle or in the locker room and realize that he is a 2x MVP in this league and that he is destined to be the best player in the NBA. 

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Giannis Antetokounmpo cannot “settle” for a three-point shot or better yet, he must not settle for a weak fadeaway against James Harden, who was basically playing with one leg, with under 2 minutes left. This shot did not “cost the Bucks the game,” but it certainly did not help them and was just straight up weak. 

Down the stretch in the fourth quarter, Giannis did his job and stayed in the corner guarding guys like Joe Harris and Landry Shamet on offense, but at some point, he needs to step up and say that “enough is enough” when Kevin Durant is draining shot after shot against your teammates. We have yet to see this defining, leadership type of moment from Giannis Antetokounmpo in his career and unless we see this happen, the Bucks will not be winning a championship anytime soon. 

This series is going to come down to Giannis Antetokounmpo having the guts to override his head coach if they do not want him on KD and make the decision that he is going to take on the challenge of guarding Durant. If Kevin Durant still torches them and he goes off in Game 6, so be it, but the Milwaukee Bucks cannot lose this series without having Antetokounmpo guard Durant and Giannis needs to realize this. 

Gianns Antetokounmpo is a 2x league-MVP, a 4x All-Defensive Team player and the 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year. There is no excuse for him not guarding Kevin Durant, who looks like the best player in the world right now, in this series. Watching the second-half of this game and not seeing Giannis guard Durant once was straight up embarrassing for Antetokounmpo and has definitely done some damage to his reputation right now.