Giannis Antetokounmpo hosted Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers last night for an epic battle of "disproportionate" point guards. Ben Simmons and Giannis are essentially the real-life Monstars from the filmic universe, given they cover the floor in three-to-four steps. Incidentally, the Sixers had a clearcut strategy going into the opening tip-off: smother Giannis with double coverage, forcing awkward dribble penetration from the likes of Eric Bledsoe and company.
Unfortunately, their Sixers overcommitment to defending Giannis allowed other players such as Khris Middleton to fill the scoreboard with "inefficient" numbers. Middleton, for example, finished the game with 25 points on 6-of-18 shooting, including a 10-for-10 conversion rate at the free throw line. It certainly didn't help that Ben Simmons was standing dangerously close to picking up his 6th foul going into the 4th quarter. But by then, the game was well out of reach. The Milwaukee Bucks did the bulk of their damage in the 2nd quarter, posting an astounding 49 points during the 12-minute interval, with the momentum riding high on their shoulders.
Not to be outdone by the unsavory result, Ben Simmons did come away with a triple-double, posting 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Unfortunately, Giannis' triple-double was a little bit heftier, as he finished the game with 32 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Bucks led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, are looking, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good, in the early going.
