If anyone claims that they saw this coming before the season began, they’re being disingenuous, because Antetokounmpo and his teammates didn’t foresee them rolling to the league’s best record and leapfrogging other dues-paying contenders to emerge as a favorite. “Nobody did. Nobody did. We knew we was going to be good,” Eric Bledsoe told The Athletic, “but we didn’t know we was going to be this good.”
Eric Bledsoe Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: G
Born: 12/09/89
Height: 6-1 / 1.85
Weight:195 lbs. / 88.5 kg.
Salary: $15,000,000
Born: 12/09/89
Height: 6-1 / 1.85
Weight:195 lbs. / 88.5 kg.
Salary: $15,000,000
“That’s my man. That’s my man!,” Bledsoe said. “I’m always proud of George. Coming in, picking up the slack. He came in, without Malcolm (Brogdon) playing and played a hell of a game. He’s been a vet in this league. He knows what it takes. He’s been to the championship; he’s been to the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s no surprise what he’s doing.”
The difference wasn’t just the level at which the Bucks were playing on defense. More than every other game this season, the Bucks switched against screens, with players one-through-four doing most of the switching. “In Game 1 we got beat one-on-one, screen-and-roll, (Al) Horford popping getting wide open looks,” Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe said. “When we looked at it in film, we just thought that was the right thing. Coach Bud did a great job, his staff did a great job of making adjustments. “In the playoffs, you’ve got to make adjustments and that’s one of the biggest adjustments we made.”
With the series tied, the Bucks will head to Boston for Game 3. During last year’s playoffs, the Bucks went 0-4 at TD Garden. The Boston crowd was relentless in its heckling of Bledsoe, who engaged in trash talk with Terry Rozier throughout the series. “I know what is ahead,” Bledsoe told ESPN. “I know the crowd don’t forget nothing. I have to be way more focused going into Game 3. That’s the most focused I’ll need to be this entire series. That’ll be our toughest game.”
Matt Velazquez: Officially official: Nikola Mirotic joins the Bucks’ starting lineup along with Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez.
