The Celtics blew out the Bucks in Game 1 and held Giannis Antetokounmpo to 7-for-21 from the floor and just 4-for-15 from the paint. So naturally, the Bucks' star says they don't need to make any adjustments against Boston's suffocating defense.
"I don't think we should change at all," Giannis said Monday, per ESPN. "Why should there be a change after a game that we lost? We should not be the team that made the adjustment."
That's a strange comment, considering a big playoff loss is exactly the kind of thing that's sparked teams to make adjustments since James Naismith shot his first peach basket. The Bucks were stifled in the second half Sunday, getting outscored 60-40 over the final two quarters of their 22-point loss. Al Horford bullied Giannis in the paint and forced him to shoot five three-pointers, which is nearly double his regular season per-game average. Milwaukee's starting guards, Eric Bledsoe and Sterling Brown, only put up nine points compared to 45 from Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown.
Those kinds of numbers certainly make it seem like the Bucks need to switch things up. But head coach Mike Budenholzer appears to agree with Giannis: no change is necessary.
"Sometimes, I think adjustments and all of those things are actually somewhat overrated," Budenholzer told reporters, via the Athletic's Eric Nehm. "Hopefully we're going to be better. Areas where we can improve and do something differently, hopefully we'll do that. But most importantly, it's just us playing better."
One game into the series, and the Bucks are already relying on hope. Paul Pierce is right: the Celtics have already won.
