thelesterlee
I love Thanasis Antetokounmpo. To you, he’s the final minutes-eating, square-headed face of nepotism. To me, he’s the advancement of worker’s rights.
Last week, the Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated from the 2024 NBA Playoffs by the Indiana Pacers. Giannis and Dame Lillard suffered injuries and surprisingly, Khris Middleton and Pat Bev couldn’t beat an actual basketball team.
Personally, I think they should’ve given all of Giannis’s minutes to Thanasis, as an experiment—a treat to all of us who sat through the Bucks strange ass 2023-24 season—ending with Doc Rivers vanishing in the night when the city realizes their monorail doesn’t work.
We can’t look at the past forever. On to next season, already in peril with this week’s Thanasis news.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo has sustained a torn Achilles tendon and will undergo surgery, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/ujTno6wJJ0
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 8, 2024
31-year-old Bucks superstar, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, is undergoing surgery to repair a torn Achilles. Important to note this injury did not occur in an NBA game but during a routine workout. Stay ready, never gotta get ready gone wrong.
How will the Bucks survive without Thanasis Antetokounmpo next season?
Sure, Thanasis only appeared in 34 games this season but in one of those games, he scored 6 points in 8 minutes. Also managed to commit 4 fouls in those 8 minutes. Walking double-six.
Thanasis’s value is not what he does on the court. That brother is not on that team to hoop.
TA’s on the Bucks to keep his brother happy.
In October, Giannis signed a 3-year $186 million contract extension to stay in Milwaukee about a month after the team acquired Damian Lillard to finally pair Giannis with an All-NBA caliber guard who can help take some of the scoring burden from his shoulders.
Unfortunately, Dame had his worst shooting season since 2015, their aging roster aged and their first-time head coach got fired halfway through for the man the team hired to on-board him.
Doc Rivers showing up late to practice with coffee stains on his polo isn’t going to make Giannis hop out of bed in the morning excited to get dunked on all day because any time Damian Lillard hits a screen, he momentarily loses all balance or understanding of his surroundings like a SWAT team stormed the courts with stun grenades and tear gas.
The Eastern Conference changing right before our eyes. T
he Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers are here now. The Cavs finally made it to the 2nd round this year. The Knicks are a pack of wolves. The Sixers, Nets and Heat will be star-hunting and replenished for war next season.
At 29 years old, facing the end of his physical peak, it’s Giannis’s relationship with his brother and the community they’ve built that’s keeping him in Milwaukee.
So when Thanasis is icing his foot in bed during the Bucks first road trip, who will stop Giannis from throwing a ball at the back of Dame’s head after he let his assignment cross him up for the 5th consecutive defensive possession?
Most Doc Rivers locker rooms implode on themselves. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin hated each other. Then Montrezl Harrell, Lou Williams and the role players on the team hated Kawhi and PG’s special treatment.
Everyone hated Ben Simmons.
Giannis is approaching a crossroads in his career. He may have squeezed all the wins he can out of this Bucks organization. He is about to have the first season in years without his brother by his side. Doc Rivers isn’t the father figure that will keep Giannis focused and inspired.
The vibes could be abysmal in Wisconsin next season. The entire team could spiral out of control. All because Thanasis blew a tire.
The Giannis era in Milwaukee could be coming to an end thanks to Thanasis.
(Or it won’t matter at all because Thanasis can’t dribble without looking down at the ball.)
Can the Bucks survive this Thanasis injury? Leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee. Let me know if you think Thanasis doesn’t have value so I can explain immigration to you.
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