Milwaukee Bucks’ Power Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo Reflects On Playoff Loss Against Miami Heat

The Milwaukee Bucks’ exciting summer has done a good job of deterring supporters from the reality that their club just suffered a very painful first-round playoff elimination.

While it’s certain that Giannis Antetokounmpo is excited about what his revamped team may accomplish this coming year, their humbling playoff defeat to the Miami Heat is still very much on his mind.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Considering the Milwaukee Bucks’ First-Round Exit

Since Giannis and the Bucks’ opening-round playoff loss to Miami in five games last season, a lot has changed. Antetokounmpo, though, is not someone who is easily forgotten:

“Obviously, it was hard time for us having a good regular season and going the first round and ending our season like that,” he said, via Marc J. Spears fo Andcsape. “And it was just unfortunate because we couldn’t catch a break and I don’t want to talk about the excuses. But obviously, it wasn’t a good feeling for the team. Everybody was in disbelief when we [lost] Game 5 at home. We were looking at one another and we were like, ‘We just lost in the first round of the playoffs.”

Even Bucks supporters will agree that the Miami Heat conjures up some unpleasant memories. But as Giannis said, Milwaukee isn’t offering any justifications. There is no getting around the reality that they were severely defeated in the first round.

Giannis prefers to confront the beast head-on.

Antetokounmpo is working hard to keep in mind that playoff defeat. Giannis wants to make sure that his team utilizes it as motivation going into the next season, not that he hasn’t moved on from it:

“But at the end of the day, in life, sometimes that happens,” he contiuned. “And at the end of the day, what are you going to do about it? You’re going to sit down and just keep on whining about it and feeling bad about yourself, or you’re going to do something about it? And hopefully this year we can get back in this right position, same exact position, and power through that. We got to take a game at a time, but when we get to the first round be better when we lose the first game, be able to respond when we face adversity. But it wasn’t a good summer. And sometimes it’s good to have summers like that, to have kind of like a bad taste in your mouth.

“It makes you work harder. It makes the team even more locked-in because even though we had a good team last [season], we couldn’t advance from the first round. So, tough time for the team. And obviously because of that, a lot of changes was made from coach on. Coach Bud was together with us for five years. We won the championship together and now [we are] on to other things. But at the end of the day, again, it was a lesson and hopefully I’ll learn from it and hopefully the whole team can learn from it. Then, once we get in the same position again, we are better.”

I get the impression that Giannis and the Bucks will play this next season with a chip on their shoulder. Giannis seems to be in the “exact position” they were in during their previous season, thus a hint of vengeance also seems to be on his mind.