Giannis needs to SACRIFICE some of his role to Damian Lillard! – Kendrick Perkins on the Bucks 👀

Giannis needs to SACRIFICE some of his role to Damian Lillard! – Kendrick Perkins on the Bucks 👀

The night of returns it is Kendrick Perkins returns to our countdown sit Michael wilbon Bob Myers here with us as well Damen Lillard back in Portland Kevin Durant back in Brooklyn tonight Michael wilbon but when you look at these two teams the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns who do you feel feel

Better about putting your chips down on going to the NBA finals uh I don’t feel great about either one of them right now but I I’ll I’ll go Milwaukee Malika in in large part because the West is is still better I know the East has gotten more interesting in the last few weeks

With the trade Miami made and Doc Rivers going to Milwaukee it’s gotten more interesting than Knicks being 14- two Philadelphia we know know what’s going on with Joel really but the West is the West is so difficult to get through and the Suns perk and I were just talking

Before we came on just now about what they need and they they they sort of need a pitbull of a personality well where’s that come from does one of the guys automatically get a personality transplant that they have that’s not where they are now and so Milwaukee

Seems Boston’s the only team that is just demonstrably better at this point in the East than Milwaukee I don’t know that we can say the same thing for Phoenix we can’t and and when I think about the Phoenix Suns I think about Hostess CupCakes they come on they cream

Me in the middle they cream me in the middle and that’s why I got to get an edge to the Milwaukee Bucks because the Interior right the tenacity nerkish have not lived up to what he’s supposed to do for us delivering anchoring that defense

Right and they try KD at the five and I get Frank vo he’s doing it for offensive reason but the last time that KD really actually played the four and five was with you Bob in Golden State he don’t have Draymond Green on the side of him

So when I look at the Milwaukee Bucks and I look at that duo and Dame and Yiannis and then I look at Brook Lopez you got Bobby poris Bobby poris is that guy that you’re talking about that comes in off the branch and bring that tenacity that they need jiannis already

Is a a beast in itself so I give I I I think this conversation right here I got to go with the Milwaukee okay look I think Malik um G talk to you always he’s abandoned table no look I just don’t see anybody getting by Boston

Right now barring if mb’s healthy I I could see uh Philly I could but Boston’s they’re the deepest they’re the most versatile team their issue is porzingis is Health if if if he’s healthy they have so many ways to beat you does that Boston Celtics team so I agree the West

Wilbon is is deeper but I could see Phoenix beating any team in the west I just don’t know if anybody’s beating Boston right now in the East so you’re right if Phoenix could find their way to the Western Conference Finals hey you know you put Booker Beal Durant against

Even if it’s Kawai or jic or whoever it is they could get there no I’m not I don’t want to hear it what do you think I got you a contract I got you a pretty good contract right did was pry good but but come on now that now Phoenix is not

Beating Denver or the Clippers when it comes to them matching so if you’re saying to me if you think Milwaukee’s got a better chance of beating Boston than Phoenix does of beating Denver or the Clippers I do I do and it’s solely because of the point you made about

Chris Al porzingis we still haven’t seen him in that moment when it matters the most right and when you think about that front line of Milwaukee Giannis Brook Lopez and Bobby poris that’s a heavy load and if he’s not 100% healthy or you have to worry about him being healthy

You can’t put all that ownership on Big Al Horford I’ll give you another scenario and I I hear what you’re saying about Boston Bob and I don’t disagree but remember you gotta you have to play a couple of rounds before we get Milwaukee Boston if they finish one two

Suppose the Knicks not not wait wait wait not is not here he is not here I’m here is not here we don’t have to talk about the either Beat Boston or or more more more likely beat up Boston give them a tough six or seven game series that the that

Leaves the Celtics limping and having to figure out some things like porzingis who hasn’t been in games in his career like that we’ve seen the Celtics play in tough seven game series and still be the team to represent a confence seen dis a point that they’re struggling a little

Bit to fit to find that fit why do you think that is even though they’re winning through it well well because the word sacrifice comes to mind right and anytime you get together with another Superstar generational Talent someone has to sacrifice and it’s not necessarily shots right we saw Steph

Curry sacrifice and take a backseat to Kevin Durant we saw Kevin Kevin Garnett take a back seat to Paul Pierce on the offensive end we saw uh D Wayne Dwayne Wade sacrifice to LeBron James in order to complete the mission and so when I

Look at jannis an tupo he has to be the guy that sacrific and I’m not saying his shots but his role like dominate that twom man game be more of a center type player where you’re setting screens and being more of a diver to the basket like

They haven’t mastered that yet I want to see them get to that Jamal Murray and yish level where it’s just like clicking like you know on time on target without having to call a set I I think that’s the right word sacrifice um and that’s

What you have to do es what they want to do was win a championship but it was interesting when Lillard great interview when he was answering the question not as good as I thought that would be my response how’s that tandem going not as smooth as I thought I thought it would

Be bet it’s fine but it’s not great and to hear him that was that was a pretty honest answer from an NBA superstar usually they’d say oh we love it it’s great we we we’re clicking he answered you honestly and he said look I not as

Good as I thought we got work to do when Durant came to Golden State him and Steph were trying to figure it out but what did happen perk was when you got to the games in the playoffs that mattered they would run that one three picking

Role and Durant and Steph did what they were supposed to do so the question is you don’t want to wait that long right you for Lillard and and Giannis they got to be doing that now to develop that right right Kevin Steph and Kevin were so unbelievable they could just do it

But I think that’s the question they go to they got to get some rhythms get some reps in to really be ready for that there’s one thing they that Dame’s not going to replace and nor should he be asked cuz he does something different and that is replace Drew holiday

Defensively okay so I mean Adrien Griffin didn’t go away and they didn’t bring Doc Rivers in because of offensive issues I mean that’s straight tied to defense we talked about how in the month of January which is just now ending uh they were 28th the Bucks in defense and

Team defense so Dame is not going to impact that greatly Dame will have a great impact but not that thing that has caused that team so much you know discomfort already this year so I think it’s it’s hard to just look at Dame plugging play it’s not the same team as

It was three years ago when they won the NBA Championship but I but I think Dame they they had to get Dame and make that move because of the decline that Chris midon is on right he looks old and let’s just be real he’s not he don’t look

Healthy he don’t look the same also but Dame could be better defensively we’re not asking him to be Drew holiday but damn it I saw Eddie House fight over screens I didn’t seen guys I didn’t seen Ray Allen take pride in in guarding a rip hamton in the Eastern Conference

Finals who wasn’t known for a Defender so like when you’re playing for something and you’re playing for a championship like that’s all you asking is for that effort D has it in them he totally right I mean that’s why people you you you you were probably on that team when Westbrook criticized uh

Curry’s defense kind of laughed in the playoff it was a playoff series where he kind of smirked about Steph’s defense right but he gave effort Steph gave effort every single time and that does a couple things one you’re a better Defender just by trying harder and two

Your teammates see that if your teammate if you’re a superstar and you defend everyone has to defend but hell Bob I mean go go back and look at the last title that that y’all won in Golden State Boston was trying to search Stu out I saw times where he actually was G

Al Horford on the low block yeah it’s a mentality he decided he was going to get better and better and better and stronger but it’s it’s this too but but in Lillard’s defense he was carrying Portland by himself for for years so he’s probably like I can’t do this and

That but now he has some help so he could say I’m going to sacrifice some offense I’ve got more help to guard better right there’s a little bit of a trade-off that needs to be made for Milwaukee in order to get where they want to go and as Dame said he still

Feels like they have the pieces to do that [Applause] [Applause] up

Michael Wilbon, Bob Myers, Malika Anders and Kendrick Perkins discuss and break down the tandem of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard thus far in the season.

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