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We are beyond the NBA season’s midway point, and the Milwaukee Bucks are 18-26, 11th place in the Eastern Conference, a few games from the final play-in tournament berth.
They have featured Giannis Antetokounmpo for 30 of those games, and the two-time league MVP has been incredible in them, averaging a 28-10-6 on 65/40/66 shooting splits. When he is on the court, they practically profile as a contender, outscoring opponents by 5.4 points per 100 possessions, excluding garbage time, according to Cleaning the Glass.
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How are the Bucks so bad? It’s a long story, actually, one that has stripped them of all other star talent and most of their tradable draft assets. Not gonna lie: It’s a sad story, and one that has us wondering why in the world Antetokounmpo has not been traded … yet.
For starters, the Bucks are being outscored by 11.2 points per 100 possessions when Antetokounmpo is on the bench, looking more like the league’s worst team. They are 3-11 when Giannis has missed games entirely to a right calf injury and a left adductor strain.
Plus, “We’re not playing hard, not doing the right things,” Antetokounmpo said after Wednesday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. “We’re not playing to win. Not playing together. Our chemistry’s not there. Guys are being selfish. Guys are trying to look for their own shots instead of looking for the right shot for the team. Guys trying to do it on their own. At times, I feel like when we’re down 10, down 15, down 30, we try to make it up in one play. It is not gonna work. We just gotta keep on chipping away, possession by possession.”
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On Friday, Antetokounmpo suffered another injury to his right calf, which he thinks will keep him sidelined until the “end of February, beginning of March.” Things will get worse in Milwaukee, where Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma have taken the places of Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton. Damian Lillard was even there in between. I told you it was a sad story.
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Meanwhile, the NBA’s trade deadline will pass on Feb. 5 and, despite reports of recent hope from…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/why-hasnt-giannis-antetokounmpo-been-traded-yet-172309356.html
Author : Ben Rohrbach
Publish date : 2026-01-27 17:23:00
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