ZestVlog

LAS VEGAS — Giannis Antetokounmpo was not happy. And after the Milwaukee Bucks faltered down the stretch, looking disorganized and listless in a 128-119 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the semifinals of the In-Season Tournament, he listed the reasons why.

"No, even if it was about the organization and the coaches, I try to shoot straight," Antetokounmpo said after he was asked whether the coaches or players were to blame. "But at the end of the day, I don't — as much as I don't want to throw anybody under the bus, at the end of the day, the players play the game. We play the game, you know. Coaches can say whatever they want to say and put us in the position to be successful, and you hope that they do that for you.

"But you've got to make the plays, you know, like you don't sprint back on defense, it's not the coaches' fault you don't sprint back. If you're not able to execute down the stretch and you turn the ball over and you throw it to your opponent's hands, it's not the coaches' fault. You've just got to be a man, you have to take that."

The loss knocked the Bucks out of the inaugural event and dropped them to 15-7 for the season. They not only lost a winnable game, but also lost a chance to play for the NBA Cup and the $500,000 that players would get for winning it. In the end, there was a sense of disarray, which mirrored the Bucks’ play down the stretch.

"We have to come together as a team," Antetokounmpo said. "This is Game 22. We have 60 more games. We've got to keep on coming together as a team. We've got to keep on spending time together. We've got to keep watching film together. We have to keep getting on the court together."

Read the rest of my story here.

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