Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Shaq offers Bucks stars candid advice after All-Star Game: 'You're being too nice'

By Jeff Smith | Last updated 2/19/24

Following an impressive NBA All-Star weekend, Damian Lillard sat down with the crew from TNT's Inside the NBA. While plenty of praise was given to the NBA three-point shootout champion, Lillard, who also took home the All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player award, received some strong advice as well.

Hall of Famer and former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal was candid in his thoughts about the current state of the Milwaukee Bucks, and he offered some insight directly to Lillard, specifically pointing at the team's star duo.

"You and Giannis (Antetokounmpo), you're being too nice," O'Neal told Lillard. "When all is said and done and it doesn't work out, three people are gonna get blamed: Doc [Rivers], you and Giannis. So you and Giannis gotta make sure the troops get it done. There's no reason with Doc being there y'all should be 3-7 ... So when you get back, you'll have to grab some people by the necks and say 'Hey, this is what I need you to do.'"

"There’s no reason you should be 3-7 with Doc Rivers over there… You're gonna have to grab some people by the necks and say, 'Hey, this is what I need you to do.'"

Shaq’s advice to Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo ️

(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/WTKGRxEsr5
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 19, 2024

The Bucks have been a hot-button topic through the first half of the NBA season after firing head coach Adrian Griffin despite a 30-13 record. At the time, they were in second place in the Eastern Conference. The team then hired Rivers to take over, and they've gone 3-7 since that point.

While the Bucks have only fallen to third in the East, their margin for error has gotten drastically smaller. Milwaukee is now just 1.5 games ahead of the New York Knicks and two games up on the Philadelphia 76ers in the standings.

If things don't improve quickly, it also wouldn't be shocking to see one of the next three teams within striking distance make a move either. The Indiana Pacers are four games back of the Bucks while the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic each trail them by just 4.5 games.

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