The Milwaukee Bucks lost in Utah last night. It was a frustrating game—they lost every quarter, and seemed to be flustered by Utah’s constant motion and passing, which provided a pretty stark contrast to Milwaukee’s own “eh, something good will happen, probably” offense—in what’s been a frustrating start to the season for the Bucks. Coming off a 42-win season, with a closer-to-fully-realized Giannis Antetokounmpo, and bolstered by the addition of Eric Bledsoe, the Bucks are now just 9-9 on the season, a middling 14th in offensive efficiency and a massively disappointing 22nd in defensive efficiency.
Antetokounmpo’s own frustration boiled over pretty badly late in the third quarter—he stormed to the bench, furious, after a sequence featuring what he perceived as a non-call on a layup over Derrick Favors and Rodney Hood, and a sloppy transition turnover that lead to a Utah dunk. He was pissed enough to smash the hell out of an innocent little chair:
Giannis’s rage was apparently not fully released upon the chair. Bucks assistant coach Sean Sweeney must’ve said something to him, because cameras caught Giannis shouting “I will fuck you up” at Sweeney as Sweeney gestured boldly behind a line of players and coaches:
Giannis is Shaq, now. His otherworldly athletic gifts and enormous two-way workload mean that his average NBA game is a lot tougher and more violent and competitive than, say, Kelly Oubre’s. He also really, really gives a shit, and is humongous. I would not want to be the person who pisses Giannis off like that, even with a couple rows of adult peacekeepers separating us.