Giannis Antetokounmpo Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Pacers keeping the Greek Freak from getting freaky

Giannis Antetokounmpo is haunted by his team’s inability to beat the Indiana Pacers. Even in intimate moments.

The Bucks are 1-4 against the Pacers this season, and it’s getting in Antetokounmpo’s head. Even when the Greek Freak is “about to get freaky at night.”

Against the rest of the NBA, the Bucks are 24-6, winning at an 80 percent clip. That's a 65-win pace over the course of a season. Against the Pacers, they win 20 percent of their games, which would be a 16-win pace. No other team has beaten Milwaukee more than once, and Indiana has done it four times.

Antetokounmpo hasn't looked nervous on the court, averaging 44.2 points while making over two-thirds of his shots in Pacers games this season. But the Bucks' defense has been non-existent against Tyrese Haliburton, frustrating the former Defensive Player of the Year. Milwaukee can't keep Indiana out of the paint, and Giannis can't keep the Pacers out of his head, no matter what he's doing.

The consolation for Milwaukee is that they won't have to play Indiana again in the regular season. The downside is that they can't get revenge on the Pacers if and until these teams meet in the playoffs. Without closure, there might be no end to how long the Greek Freak thinks about the Indiana games.  

Ironically, Antetokounmpo’s intrusive thoughts about the Pacers in the bedroom are achieving exactly what Milwaukee has failed to do against Indiana: Stop them from scoring.

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