Brooklyn Nets 104-127 Milwaukee Bucks: 5 Talking points as Giannis Antetokounmpo puts up dominant performance on opening night | 2021-22 NBA season

#3 Both teams would be concerned by issues with their star point guards

Kyrie Irving cannot play for the Brooklyn Nets unless he gets his COVID-19 vaccination

Anyone who said the Brooklyn Nets are still overwhelming favorites despite Kyrie Irving’s unavailability must have gotten a reality check after the result of this game.

Irving, who has been told by the Nets that he cannot be a part of the team on a part-time basis because of his unvaccinated status, was clearly missed in this game.

Irving, who averaged 26.9 ppg for the Brooklyn Nets last season, is a legitimate scoring threat against the best of defenses. His presence would have certainly put the Milwaukee Bucks’ defense under more pressure while creating more scoring opportunities for his team.

Brooklyn must hope that Irving will eventually get vaccinated and return to the team to boost their title-winning ambitions this season.

On the other side, Jrue Holiday’s exit after the first half of the game because of a right heel contusion could be a point of concern for the Milwaukee Bucks. Holiday had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting for the Bucks before he suffered the injury, which did not allow him to participate in the second half.

Remember, this has been an extremely short offseason for Holiday, who was also a member of Team USA at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The Milwaukee Bucks will not want him gone for too long if they have to mount the best possible defense of their NBA title.

---

#4 Give us another round of Kevin Durant versus Giannis Antetokounmpo

Although James Harden had 20 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, it was Kevin Durant who was once again the best player on the Brooklyn Nets’ roster.

Durant started off slow, going 2-for-8 initially, but finished with 32 points on 13-of-25 shooting and 11 boards. The fact that he did this despite Khris Middleton playing some really good defense on him shows why he is the league’s best player at the moment.

However, the night undoubtedly belonged to Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. The Greek Freak tallied 32 points to match Durant’s output but also had 14 rebounds and seven assists to go with it.

There were moments in the game when Antetokounmpo appeared to be everywhere on the court for Milwaukee. He ran the floor, blocked shots or just simply Euro-stepped his way past KD.

Giannis also had five offensive boards and a couple of blocks, including one on Nic Claxton, which yet again showcased why he is such a great two-way player.

---

#5 The Milwaukee Bucks are here to defend their NBA title

There is a reason why the Milwaukee Bucks are the defending NBA champions, and they made it clear that they are here to defend.

Where previous champions may have simply sauntered in on opening night, the Bucks played with purpose from the very beginning. Their interior defense, passing (25 assists) and ball-handling all looked sharp on the night.

Of course, the Milwaukee Bucks were led by Giannis’ performance. However, with Holiday missing the majority of the game, Middleton provided adequate cover with a 20-point, nine-rebound effort while playing good defense on Durant.

The Bucks would have also been excited by the contribution of new signing Jordan Nwora, who scored 15 points off the bench while going 3-of-6 from long range.

Pat Connaughton, too, continued with his stellar playoff showing by pounding the Nets for 20 points from 8-of-13 shooting.

Really, barring the injury to Holiday, this was the perfect way for the Milwaukee Bucks to begin their 2021-22 campaign.

Recommended Video

Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!