Every time Giannis Antetokounmpo shuts down trade speculation, something goes down in Milwaukee that raises the subject again. Tonight it wasn’t just Giannis booing the homecrowd. Post-game statements are starting to show the communication divide between the sidelines and the court. And as usual, the Greek Freak is setting the record straight.

Doc Rivers, like a lot of other coaches, claimed that the schedules are taking a toll on the players. He specifically blamed tonight’s blowout 106-139 loss to the Timberwolves on “Dead legs.”

Franchise cornerstone, Antetokounmpo is completely dismissing the head coach’s narrative. “I don’t think it’s dead legs. I don’t think it’s dead legs. Come on, man, I don’t think it’s dead legs,” he told the reporters in the locker room. As if repeating that thrice wasn’t enough, he doubled down.

“Were we tired? Yeah, yeah, a little bit. We got a day off yesterday, you know, we wasn’t at the gym. So, I don’t see the reason.”

So Giannis is not making excuses. But this indicates a deeper rift in how the head coach and his players view the team’s struggles.

Giannis Antetokounmpo wants ‘dead-legged’ Bucks to find their footing

After the Bucks lost to the severely shorthanded Nuggets on January 11, Doc Rivers claimed that the players like Kevin Porter Jr. and AJ Green were not following his strategies. In contrast, they executed a play drawn up by Giannis to perfection against the Lakers.

Tonight, when the Wolves were shooting 60% from the field, Doc Rivers blames the Bucks’ 48% shooting rate on the NBA schedule.

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“Just beat us off the dribble all night. I honestly thought we were playing with dead legs. I knew this was gonna be a difficult game, coming back from a road trip, having one game and then leaving again tomorrow…But no excuses. We just didn’t have it. We were flat.”

Antetokounmpo dismissed physical fatigue as a reason for their loss. He instead held his teammates accountable for lack of focus and effort. He’s likening himself to a dad who has to repeat the message to his teammates till it sinks in that they need to improve.

“Let’s just start by—can we just play harder? Can we just play the right way? Can we create advantage for the next player? Can we just play for our teammate? … We halfway through the season. It’s either now or never. So hopefully in the next couple of games, we can turn things around. And if not… go home.”

Giannis demanding accountability from his teammates is coming right when he responded to the booing Milwaukee crowd with boos too. That fueled speculation that he’s once more checked out and the lack of connectivity within the team is going to lead to his exit. The forward shutting down the rumors is not helping. Only a change in team chemistry will fix that.