“I gotta do what I gotta do. I had the injury out of nowhere last year so just gotta be smart, take care of my body.” Giannis Antetokounmpo was adamant about taking things slowly, and smartly, upon returning to the court after an 18-day gap. The Bucks star had sustained a calf injury on February 5th. It sidelined him for not only the regular season games but also the All-Star Weekend. With Doc Rivers also looking to take things easy with his star player, the ‘Greek Freak’ was placed on a minutes restriction upon his return. Unfortunately, in just a few days, Giannis has backtracked from his original belief. Now, he wants things to return to normal.
Giannis was interviewed by reporters after the Bucks’ recent 120-113 win against the Miami Heat. Even though the ‘Greek Freak’ was placed on a 31-minute restriction, he exceeded that by over 55 seconds. To a reporter, this was a sign that Doc Rivers has trust in his player, and allows for a little bit of leeway. To Giannis, however, it did not mean anything.
Well, not anything completely. Antetokounmpo was more or less disappointed that Doc did not trust him enough to play him longer. “If he trusted me, he should have played me 36 minutes. Played me 40 seconds more. He just…. he couldn’t get me out, that’s why. He tried to get me out, but he couldn’t,” the 30-year-old said.
With a mindset like that, Giannis has shown that he feels fine on a personal level. “Hopefully, moving forward, I don’t like playing with minute restriction. I don’t know how long this is going to go for, but hopefully, can get back playing my regular minutes, and my regular rotation so I can get better and better,” the 2x MVP added.
This is a developing story.
The post Giannis Antetokounmpo Takes Defiant Stand Against Doc Rivers’ Key Decision Amid Renewed Trade Speculations appeared first on EssentiallySports.
