{"id":552737,"date":"2026-01-22T07:47:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T07:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/552737\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T07:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T07:47:11","slug":"antetokounmpo-says-lack-of-chemistry-has-contributed-to-bucks-recent-blowout-losses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/552737\/","title":{"rendered":"Antetokounmpo says lack of chemistry has contributed to Bucks’ recent blowout losses"},"content":{"rendered":"

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo says chemistry issues may be contributing to the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 recent penchant for lopsided losses.<\/p>\n

The Bucks fell 122-102<\/a> on Wednesday to an Oklahoma City team that was missing a handful of rotation players due to injuries. The Bucks have dropped four of their last five games. Each of their last three losses was decided by at least 18 points.<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo was asked after the game against Oklahoma City if he sees any common threads to the blowout defeats.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not playing hard,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cWe aren\u2019t doing the right thing. We\u2019re not playing to win. We\u2019re not playing together. Our chemistry\u2019s not there. Guys are being selfish, trying to look for their own shots instead of looking for the right shot for the team. Guys trying to do it on their own. <\/p>\n

“At times, I feel like when we\u2019re down 10, down 15, down 20, we try to make it up in one play, and it\u2019s not going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milwaukee\u2019s string of nine straight playoff appearances is in jeopardy midway through the season, with the Bucks (18-25) 11th in the Eastern Conference standings. They haven\u2019t won more than two games in a row at any point this season.<\/p>\n

Now they\u2019re going to have to get accustomed to playing without Kevin Porter Jr.,<\/a> who ranks second on the team in points per game (16.8) and first in assists per game (7.4). Porter has an oblique strain that leaves his return date uncertain.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not going to play anytime soon, I can tell you that, but we don\u2019t know how long he\u2019ll be out,\u201d Bucks coach Doc Rivers said.<\/p>\n

One thing that could help the Bucks is getting the ball in Antetokounmpo\u2019s hands more often. The two-time MVP has 13 field-goal attempts or fewer in his last four games, including 11 against Oklahoma City. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not the guy that will yell and cuss his teammate out and demand the ball,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cI\u2019ve never done that in my career. But I feel like I\u2019ve played with teammates that kind of understand the gravity that I can cause for our team, in how I can create for teammates and for myself, and how I can help the team be more successful. <\/p>\n

“But maybe for some reason, I don\u2019t understand \u2014 maybe because we\u2019re young, maybe because we\u2019re not playing well, maybe because guys think it\u2019s their turn, they want to carry the team on their back and try to turn this around \u2013 but I really don\u2019t get it. I really don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo said he has been trying to play aggressively and relayed something he said he has heard from others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told me there\u2019s this thing that\u2019s called the white swan and black swan, that you\u2019ve got to be the black swan and be more aggressive and demand the ball,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cIt\u2019s something I haven\u2019t done, that I\u2019ve never done my whole career. Maybe I\u2019ve got to do it more.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/NBA<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo says chemistry issues may be contributing to the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 recent penchant for lopsided…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":552738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[75737,1297,2889,7,6,446,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-552737","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-75737","9":"tag-article","10":"tag-athlete-injuries","11":"tag-basketball","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-nba-basketball","14":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115937649877880430","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}