Milwaukee Bucks fans got quite a treat on Sunday night. After all the hype and anticipation , Damian Lillard finally made his long-awaited debut for his new team. To make things even better, Giannis Antetokounmpo also made his first preseason appearance on Sunday as the new superstar duo gave us all a preview of what to expect this coming season.
The Bucks secured a 108-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers but the victory isn’t the most important thing in the minds of the supporters.
Lillard speaks out on debut
Lillard spoke to reporters after the game and he could not help but sing his new teammate’s praises. After watching Giannis amass 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds and two blocks in 15 minutes of action, Dame had nothing but good things to say about the former back-to-back MVP, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
“Having another guy out there that’s just dominant,” Lillard said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “He can dominate a game and win you a game. First couple plays, they blitz me, they trap me and the guy that I’m releasing the ball to is Giannis. So I’m just like, ‘Uh, we can do this all night.’ You know what I mean?”
Bucks fans know what Lillard means here, and they could not be happier. There are going to be a handful of challenges along the way, but it's hard not to be excited about this pairing of superstars.
“We’re going to have a lot of options,” Lillard said. “There’s going to be times where he’s willing to make the play to me, and vice versa, as we saw today.”
We did see that on Sunday. Of course, you have to take all this with a grain of salt. Not only was this a preseason game, but the Bucks pretty much went up against the Lakers’ second-stringers. Nevertheless, it was an encouraging debut for the new look Bucks.
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