"I know everybody gets enamored sometimes with the marksmanship of like a Kevin Durant" - Jalen Rose believes former DPOY winner is unequivocally the best player in NBA

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks reminded the NBA that it would be foolish to sleep on them to repeat their exploits from last year. Without Khris Middleton, Milwaukee walloped the hottest team in the league in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The “Greek Freak” had a dismal shooting night, finishing with 24 points on 9-25 shooting, but he added 13 rebounds, 12 assists and two blocks. Boston’s seemingly impenetrable defense looked shaky against the two-time NBA MVP.

Former NBA player Jalen Rose, on the Jalen and Jacoby podcast, reiterated what he has been preaching for most of the season:

“I know everybody gets enamored sometimes with the marksmanship of like a Kevin Durant or the championship pedigree and the longevity and greatness that is LeBron James and up-and-coming players like Luka and the Joker and Embiid, so many great players.”

“But when I watched Giannis play against those guys, and Jayson Tatum is the person I am referring to right now, it reminds me how much Giannis is on a whole another level than anybody else.”

In three games against the Celtics, Kevin Durant was thoroughly flummoxed by the scheme and physicality of Boston’s defenders. They made KD look old and far from the best player in the NBA reputation as they took turns to clamp him down.

There was none of that feeling with Giannis Antetokounmpo taking everything Boston’s defense threw at him. Not only was he unbothered by the physicality, the 6-11, 245lb power forward dished punishment on his defenders throughout the game.

Jayson Tatum, who looked like an all-world defender against Kevin Durant, looked too little and too inadequate against Giannis Antetokounmpo. Al Horford provided stretches of brilliance versus the Bucks’ best player, but he too was on his heels for most of the night. Ditto for Robert Williams and Grant Williams.

Giannis Antetokounmpo does not have the most beautiful array of scoring skills, but he’s proven he can get the job done when it matters most. Without Khris Middleton, who acts as Milwaukee’s closer, Antetokounmpo made sure the game would not get tight down the stretch.

The NBA’s best defense just found out that Giannis Antetokounmpo is an entirely different beast come playoff time. Boston will adjust and adapt, so it will be interesting to see how the reigning finals MVP deals with it in Game 2.

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Jalen Rose regrets jumping off the Giannis Antetokounmpo train heading into the series against the Boston Celtics

Jalen Rose predicted the Boston Celtics to win their matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks after Khris Middleton's injury. [Photo: CelticsBlog]

Jalen Rose previously predicted that the Boston Celtics would be too much to handle for the Milwaukee Bucks without Khris Middleton. He said that losing the Bucks’ second-leading scorer in 2-3 games will be too much to overcome.

Milwaukee also lost one game to the undermanned Chicago Bulls in the first round of the NBA postseason while Boston ran away against the Nets. The Celtics just looked like the better team against Brooklyn and have been dominant on both ends since January.

After seeing Giannis Antetokounmpo destroy Boston’s defense, Jalen Rose exclaimed:

“I admit I was wrong, dead wrong. I got caught up in the hype.”

The Celtics’ huge mid-season turnaround wasn’t a fluke and they’re not likely to shoot as bad as they did in Game 1. Boston had a horrific 28-84 shooting and had plenty of chances to come back but just couldn’t put in longer stretches of making consistent baskets.

As good as the Bucks’ defense was, the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown also missed several open shots. This is likely going to be a tough, drawn-out series that could go either way. One thing is certain though, Giannis Antetokounmpo will be at the sharp end of the Bucks’ title-retention bid on both sides of the ball.