Giannis and Dame Rise to Expectations

    This week in the world of basketball was the NBA’s opening week of games, which featured many long-awaited and star-studded matchups. For the first time in the regular season we were able to see some of the league’s new faces in new places take action. This included the new unstoppable duo in Milwaukee of Dame and Giannis.

    With Damian Lillard finally getting shipped out from the Portland Trailblazers after 11 years and going to Milwaukee to join alongside the two-time MVP Giannis, many people had questions about how the two would exactly fit playing alongside each other. Although their styles of play compliment each other with Dame’s long-range shooting, and Giannis’ physical dominance in the paint, the two have always been the number one options on their respective teams during their careers, leading to many people wondering how exactly the dynamic between them would work and who would get the last shot between them. 

    These worries were quickly put to rest during the Bucks’ first game during their Thursday night matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers. In what appeared to be a playoffs preview against the reigning MVP, Joel Embiid, Giannis was able to 23 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks on 45% from the field. Giannis was able to do all of this while his new partner in crime, Dame, was able to notch 39 points, eight rebounds, and 4 assists also on 45% from the field while hitting a couple of clutch shots down the stretch including a deep three over Kelly Oubre Jr. to put Milwaukee up five with a little over a minute left in the game, ultimately leading to the huge win over Philadelphia. Although this most certainly is still Giannis’ team, with the Greek talent signing a three year, 186 million dollar contract extension last Monday, Dame’s performance in his debut showed that he still has the ability to take over games and to show up in the clutch. Although this duo is only one game into their experiment, it is currently showing promise towards winning the championship and quite frankly, shows why they received the highest odds to win the championship following the trade. 

    What do you think? Will the new duo of Giannis and Dame be enough to win a championship this year?

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