The Boston Celtics were simply incapable of matching up to Giannis Antetokounmpo's physicality in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. On his way to claiming a 123-116 victory for his Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis managed a whopping 22 free throw attempts on the night, culminating in a stat line of 32 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists.
But not everybody was pleased to see him take it to the paint with max efficiency. On the Celtics' side of things, Kyrie Irving spent a good portion of his post-game presser lamenting the 22 free throws, because, in his mind, the incessant foul calls awarded to Giannis broke up the flow of the game, making the contest less enjoyable as a result.
"I mean, it's inevitable. Guy comes down almost 6 times in a row and gets free throws. What are you really going to do? It's slowing the game down. So, the run you would hope to make in a quarter like that doesn't happen. I mean, he shot 22 on the game," Irving said to the press. "It’s getting ridiculous at this point. It's just slowing the fucking game down."
If Kyrie wants to set a different tone in Game 4, he can. Giannis made an impression with his aggressivity, whereas for Kyrie to assert the same level of control, the Celtics need to establish him as their team's main catalyst, and do away with the "by-committee approach."
It's pretty obvious, Giannis Antetokounmpo answers to nobody but the coach, largely because he's already earned the undivided respect of his teammates. The series picks up again on Monday in Boston. What's your take on the series going forward, comment below?