DeMar DeRozan played Giannis Antetokounmpo in the playoffs last year
The Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks were the top two teams in last year’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The two teams met in the first round of the playoffs last year. Giannis Antetokounmpo got the better of his divisional rival, DeMar DeRozan, in the series. DeRozan was held to just 11 points in one of their playoff games.
The Bucks utterly dominated the Bulls in the series. Giannis was a significant reason why the Bucks won in five games. He averaged 28.6 points and 13.4 rebounds per game in the series. DeRozan, who had been the feature of the Bulls’ offense most of the season, was held to just 20.8 points a game against the Bucks’ defense.
DeRozan has respect for Giannis Antetokounmpo’s game
It appears DeRozan has respect for Giannis. DeRozan was recently on JJ Redick’s The Old Man and the Three podcast. He was asked what he learned by playing Giannis in the playoffs last season. DeRozan gave high praise to Giannis and how he’s been able to climb his way to being one of the most feared players in the NBA:
“In comparison to being in the East for so long before I went to San Antonio, playing against Giannis and seeing the development to where he is now, it’s incredible. It’s remarkable the effort that you see he put in to want to be great. It’s something that, as a basketball fan and spectator, I look at like a guy like Giannis, or if I’m someone else who’s trying to make it, let me see how dedicated he was, because I remember when he first came into the league, he’s just a skinny kid, you will push him around, didn’t know how to play basketball, but there was something there…
“But a lot of people have something there, that don’t necessarily means they find it, but him you can tell the dedication and how bad he wanted it, even to this day, you can just say how bad he wants it. You can see it physically, his demeanor, when he go out there on the court he’s a f------ killer. Every time man. As a basketball fan, you gotta respect that, and you know, being able to compete against him, this year, you see why he MVP, he’s one of the most dominant players in our league without a doubt.”
The Bulls and Bucks will be fun to watch this year
It’ll be interesting to see if DeRozan has improved his game to better matchup against Giannis and the Bucks this season. The Bucks won eight of their nine contests against the Bulls last season. The Bucks are 18-2 against the Bulls in their previous 20 games.
This season, these two teams will likely be the top teams in the Central Division. They play their first game of the regular season against each other on Nov. 23. DeRozan will have to be much more effective against the Bucks for the Bulls to have a chance to beat them this year.
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