Damian Lillard has been looking back on the Milwaukee Bucks disastrous start to the 2024-25 season.
At the start of the season, nothing would go right for the Milwaukee Bucks. It led to the team embarrassingly sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 2-8 record.
The Bucks’ big two of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard were called out for chemistry issues, and the decision to trade for the former Trail Blazers star was criticised.
The team have put it right, with Giannis and Dame combining effectively, forcing some of the outspoken critics to issue apologies.
The Bucks’ record is now 13-11, the second best in the East, and they are into the NBA Cup semi-finals.
Dame Lillard spoke at a press conference as part of the NBA Cup semi-final build-up, with the Bucks set to face the Atlanta Hawks.
Lillard admitted he had no guarantees the Bucks would be able to turn their early season form around – but felt optimistic because he had a healthy dialogue with Giannis.
He said: “I would love to say, Oh, I knew, you know, but you the truth is, you just never know. You never know what could make a team just keep going in that, that direction.
“I would say the one thing that I didn’t lose faith or confidence in is just my interactions with Giannis.”
He added: “For me, I’m, I’m always a competitor, you know, and I’m always optimistic and always think, you know, the tide is turning, every time is an opportunity to start going in the right direction.”
Dame said he texted with Giannis to discuss the situation and the way they were able to communicate and their positive mindsets played a key role in the team’s recovery.
He said: “I would be texting with Giannis, we would be talking at practice or whatever. And his mind was never shut off, you know, he was never discouraged.
“He was never like, overly concerned. It was always fight. And our conversations had always been like, you know, we’re gonna, we’re gonna turn it around. We’re gonna figure it out.
“We gotta lead, we gotta keep going. We gotta dominate, you know. And that was the conversation, and that’s my spirit, naturally. And just to be in a situation like that and to see that’s his spirit naturally as well.
“That’s what made me just believe.”
The Bucks’ early season struggles were a surprise, and the fast-pace of the NBA season meant the Bucks did not have too much time to dwell on them.
Lillard added: “I wasn’t I wasn’t overly concerned, because I knew that eventually it would turn around, just based off of that [talks with Giannis].”
“We had a great training camp. I think the energy with our team was always good. So just because of those things, I just felt like, you know, eventually we’ll hit our stride, it’s just a matter of us, keeping our minds in the right place and us staying together.
“We did that, you know, was able to get ourselves get ourselves ourselves, right.”
The Bucks won’t get too over-confident, they still have work to do and room to grow, demonstrated by their recent loss to the Celtics.
One additional piece of help has been the return of Khris Middleton, who Dame praised earlier this week.
The Giannis trade talk has now thankfully disappeared, and the Bucks are targeting success, starting with the NBA Cup.
A tough semi-final awaits against a dangerous Hawks team one place below them in the Eastern Conference.
The final will be against either the Houston Rockets or the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Doc Rivers has already stated his determination to win the cup, with Giannis a man on a mission.
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