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Richard Jefferson And Isaiah Thomas Criticize Giannis Antetokounmpo For Not Guarding Jimmy Butler In Game 1

Giannis Antetokounmpo left a lot of fans unimpressed during the Bucks’ series-opener against the Miami Heat on Monday. ‘The Greek Freak’ collected 18 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists on 50% shooting from the field in a loss against a defensive-minded Heat team.

While Antetokounmpo stuffed the stat-sheet, he didn’t match Butler’s tenacity and demeanor during the entire game, failing to overpower his opponents and struggling to find options to beat the Heat suffocating defense, which held him to only 12 shots. 

Apart from his lackluster scoring output, Antetokounmpo received a lot of criticisms for also not taking the chance to guard Butler who had a field day against every Bucks defender. After the game, Antetokounmpo gave a straightforward response after he was asked whether he asked the coach to switch onto Butler down the stretch during the game.

“To guard him? No, I didn’t. Why would you ask that? I’ll do whatever coach wants me to do.” Antetokounmpo explained.

That being said, fans and basketball pundits however aren’t pleased with Antetokounmpo’s response and thought that he could’ve made a better approach on the defensive end considering that he’s the current ‘Defensive Player of the Year’. 

Former NBA player Richard Jefferson and free agent Isaiah Thomas also feel the same way. 

“He asked that cuz you are the Defensive player of the year and Jimmy just had a career high 40. My question is why did YOU ask him why did he ask that question” Richard Jefferson wrote on Twitter.

He asked that cuz you are the Defensive player of the year and Jimmy just had a career high 40. My question is why did YOU ask him why did he ask that question 🤷🏽‍♂️🤔 https://t.co/J69zIzKOty

— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) September 1, 2020

“As a competitor and DPOY that’s your job to take that assignment. I know Marcus smart, Avery Bradley, kawhi woulda been like FOH I’m guarding him.” Isaiah Thomas wrote on Twitter.

As a competitor and DPOY that’s your job to take that assignment. I know Marcus smart, Avery Bradley, kawhi woulda been like FOH I’m guarding him. https://t.co/kEHStlPiJU

— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) September 1, 2020