data-mm-id=”_4a6v6hok2″>Giannis Antetokounmpo will contractually be at a crossroads after next season but it may be in Milwaukee's best interest to expedite the breakup sooner if it feels inevitable. The Greek Freak could help the franchise get a significant haul as opposed to nothing for the current MVP if he decides his long-term future isn't on shores of Lake Michigan and is honest about it. That is to say: the big, NBA-bending event may not take place for months but that doesn't mean there aren't precipitating events happening furiously right now that will dictate what the ultimate shape of his career looks like. So travel with me a bit down a hypothetical road in which tonight could serve as the defining moment in Antetokounmpo's future home. Down 3-0 to the Miami Heat, Giannis' teammates were able to grit their teeth in Game 4 to stave off elimination with Antetokounmpo out with an injury. His prospects for Game 5 are similarly uncertain and he is currently expected to be a game-time decision. Absent significant improvement from a few days ago, he won't look like a reasonable facsimile of himself. Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, George Hill, Eric Bledsoe and any combination of Bucks role players will be tasked with cooling off the red-hot Heat yet again. A tall task, to be sure. Lose and the Giannis rumors get hotter, Coach Bud's seat perhaps un-sittable, and the Wisconsin gloom even thicker. Win and, don't look know, but all the momentum shifts back to the No. 1 seed. If Giannis is healthy enough to make it back for Game 6 and Game 7, do you really feel comfortable betting against him?Winning this series would be a monumental achievement. It would also keep championship hopes alive as Toronto and Boston seem to have their own flaws and Milwaukee did have the best record this year. Reaching the finals would surely go a long way into proving the Bucks are a few ancillary pieces away from where they want to be. I know, I know. It is overwhelmingly likely that Miami finishes things off. Either tonight or in the next two opportunities. And avoiding a gentleman's sweep does not in itself make for a strong case in wooing a generational in-house talent looking for rings. By that thinking, though, you could say tonight will not doom Milwaukee in its endeavors to keep Giannis long-term. But it could help the team immensely by opening up the door for the future. The franchise's hopes and dreams rest immediately on what will probably be a Giannis-free roster. A crucial 48 minute audition in desperate hopes of getting future callbacks. One on hand, it's extremely not ideal. On the other, what an opportunity to rewrite unwritten history.
Related Posts
AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam sees a rosy future for Asian clubs, believing they will one day be able to compete with their European counterparts.
His enthusiasm stems from a major revamp of the AFC Champions League which takes effect next year.
Asia s top club competition will be expanded from 28 to 32 teams but with stricter criteria for participation in an effort to raise standards.
And in a huge boost to the tournament, prize money will be massively increased to 14 million dollars, with the eventual winners taking home 1.5 million dollars plus bonuses from earlier rounds.
We have been working on it for three years. It was in the drafting stage until now, he said on the sidelines of the Asian Football Confederation s annual awards ceremony and …
Liverpool maintained their grip on first place on the Premier League table with a stunning 5-1 win against a toothless Newcastle United here at St James Park on Sunday.
Reds captain Steven Gerrard scored twice and had had it not been for Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given, the hosts could have been on the wrong end of a double-figure disaster after being completely outclassed.
Republic of Ireland international Given made five world-class saves in 10 minutes to prevent Newcastle from total capitulation before the midway point of the first-half.
The Arsenal target began his run of jaw-dropping stops in the 10th minute as he pushed away a fierce near post strike from lone Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt.
Within a minute England midfielder Gerrard weaved his wa…
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said the club s defence has already improved from last season, though they will face their first big test against Arsenal next week.
Liverpool have registered two wins from their opening two Premier League fixtures without conceding a goal after claiming a gritty 1-0 win at home to newly promoted Bournemouth on Monday.
The club s Achilles heel has been their defence in recent years, having conceded 48 goals last season and 50 in 2013-14. Before that, the last time Liverpool shipped more than 45 goals was back in 1998-99 when they let in 49 under Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier.
But Carragher ever reliable in the heart of Liverpool s defence between 1996 and 2013 believes the back four of Joe Gomez, Dejan Lovren, Martin Skrt…
Professional Footballers Association chief Gordon Taylor appeared to compare Ched Evans case to the Hillsborough tragedy on Thursday.
The 26-year-old Evans, a convicted rapist, saw his proposed move to Oldham collapse earlier in the day.
In a BBC radio interview, Taylor was asked about Evans insistence that he is innocent.
He wouldn’t be the first person or persons to have been found guilty and maintain their innocence and then been proven right,” he said in his reply.
“If we’re talking about things in football we know what happened, what was alleged to have happened, at Hillsborough and it’s now unravelling and we’re finding it was very different to how it was portrayed at the time, indeed by the police at the time.
Fresh inquests a…
According to Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United have been offered the chance to sign Diego Costa. The former Chelsea striker is a free agent at the moment, having mutually terminated his contract with Spanish club Atletico Madrid in December 2020.
The report in the Italian publication has claimed that Costa’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has offered him to Premier League duo Tottenham and West Ham. However, it is not clear what the London clubs have responded to Mendes’s offer.
West Ham could do with a new striker. Sebastien Haller left for Ajax in the January transfer window, and manager David Moyes did not bring in a replacement. Tottenham striker Harry Kane is injured at the moment, and head coach Jose Mourinho could do with a replacement for the short term. Both Sp…
South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong and midfielder Lee Jae-sung have hailed Son Heung-min as the best Asian player in the world and know they will need him to be at his best if they are to overcome Mexico in Rostov-on-Don.
Shin s side made a losing start to their campaign in Group F of the World Cup, as they were beaten 1-0 by Sweden in Nizhny Novgorod.
Mexico, though, stunned holders Germany by the same scoreline in Moscow, leaving El Tri in a position of strength ahead of the clash at Rostov Arena.
Son struggled to impose himself in the opening game, but Shin is hopeful the Tottenham forward will fare better against Mexico, and agreed with the assessment of a journalist who suggested the former Bayer Leverkusen star should now be considered the Asian Football Con…
Best Odds: 7/10
Bookmaker:
Desperate to make a return to winning ways on Saturday night, Real Madrid will travel to the Estadio Benito Villamarín when they face off against Real Betis.
Real Betis
Starting with the hosts, while Real Betis might have thought they had a golden chance to pick up maximum points at the second attempt last weekend, Manuel Pellegrini s side once again missed a chance on home soil. Eventually having to come from behind and playing out a 1-1 draw against Cadiz at the Estadio Benito Villamarín, despite missing a string of chances, Los Verdiblancos know they should face another stern test on Saturday night. Having to settle for back-to-back stalemates after opening the 2021/22 La Liga campaign earlier in the month, the former West Ham bo…
Gonzalo Higuain netted a double to keep Inter Miami s playoff hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Columbus Crew that ended their three-game losing streak on Tuesday.
In a game halted at half-time for a lengthy period due to a weather delay, Higuain struck either side of the break to collect three points that puts Inter up to eighth in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the seventh-placed Crew.
The 34-year-old former Real Madrid and Juventus forward opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a first-time finish on a fast break after Ariel Lassiter s pass.
Cucho Hernandez equalised for Columbus with a bouncing header in the 41st minute from Steven Moreira s cross.
The half-time delayed lasted more than two hours, with the second half commencing at 11…
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho will seek an immediate response from his side when Schalke visit Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
The UEFA Champions League Group E clash gives Chelsea – the 2011-12 champions – a chance to bounce back from a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday.
Mourinho was furious with the effort from his players after the Premier League match, branding their performance too soft as late goals from Yoan Gouffran and Loic Remy saw Newcastle triumph.
The Portuguese has promised to make changes for the visit of Schalke as Chelsea go in search of their 100th win in UEFA competition.
I will make changes. Not 11 changes because that would be too much, but changes for sure, Mourinho told Chelsea s official website.
I don t know my…
Jesus Navas says he will have mixed feelings when Manchester City take on Sevilla in the Champions League next week.
Navas joined City from Sevilla in 2013, despite having previously suffered from homesickness so severe he left Spain training camps and declined a move to Chelsea in 2006.
The 29-year-old won the UEFA Cup and the Copa del Rey twice during his time at Sevilla but is now settled at City, who he helped to a Premier League and League Cup double in his first season at the Etihad Stadium.
And, after playing an integral role in City s 6-1 demolition of Newcastle United in their last Premier League encounter, Navas is relishing next Wednesday s reunion with his former club, who are level on three points with Manuel Pellegrini s men after the first two …