Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Sends Warning to Rest of NBA

Milwaukee Bucks All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is supremely confident in his revamped club's aptitude this season.

Ahead of the start of the season, Antetokounmpo acknowledged that Milwaukee was heading into the season as merely a chippy playoff club, not a title favorite, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

“We’re not the favorites,” Antetokounmpo said. “But we’re going to be a problem. We’re going to be dangerous. The team is set up in a way that is very, very dangerous.

“We have a lot of shooters. We have a lot of playmakers and ballhandlers," Antetokounmpo added. "We have a lot of defenders. We can switch. We have an incredible big (Myles Turner) that can space the floor and be a problem defensively. We are set up exactly how you need to make a statement. But our goal is Wednesday. After that, stay healthy and get to the playoffs, be in the playoffs and try to win a playoff series.”

In the Eastern Conference — thanks to "gap years" from the injury-plagued, free agency-afflicted Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers — there are essentially two top teams, the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. The rest of the conference appears wide open, and given that Antetokounmpo is far and away the best player in the entire East anyway — and that the team that's been constructed around him is loaded with speedy shooters and defenders — it makes sense that the Bucks are already 4-1.

Depth Beyond Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee's depth has begun to assert itself. Shockingly, even with Antetokounmpo out hurt, the Bucks managed to take down the mighty Golden State Warriors on Thursday. The 30-year-old big man is dealing with a sore knee.

The Bucks' one loss this year so far is a 118-113 defeat against the Cavaliers. Cleveland is loaded, although the club was missing one of its "Core Four" in that matchup, two-time All-Star point guard Darius Garland.

Milwaukee has been missing starting point guard Kevin Porter Jr. with a left ankle sprain for much of the season, although his defense-first replacement, rising star Ryan Rollins, has been making a case for himself as the team's possible long-term starting option at the point.

Next up for the Bucks is an afternoon clash Saturday with the Sacramento Kings. Whether Antetokounmpo will be available remains to be seen.