Giannis Antetokounmpo's former teammate Jeff Teague has revealed that the two-time MVP is a tough player to play with.
The 38-year-old made these comments before the Miami Heat's 109-113 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Antetokounmpo had 29-14-11 in this game to secure his first triple-double as a Heat player, but his effort went in vain, as they suffered their fourth defeat of the season.
After the game once again, there was a lot of criticism directed at the Greek Freak and Bam Adebayo as the duo once again failed to lead the Heat to success.
While there have been a lot of fingers raised on Adebayo's poor performances, Teague has pointed out something about Antetokounmpo's game that makes it difficult to play with him.
Currently, there is no doubt about the fact that Antetokounmpo is putting up some monstrous performances for the Heat. But that is not translating into wins for the team, a similar trend was observed in the Greek Freak's final few years in Milwaukee.
"Giannis got to change the way he played. Like I told y'all, it wasn't fun playing with Giannis. That don't mean he's not a great player. Like, he's a phenomenal player, MVP, one of the best ever do it. But he's a very tough player to play with, you got to have a certain type of guy that can fit that role," said Teague on the Club 520 podcast.
Teague shared the locker room with Antetokounmpo for just one season in which they won a championship together. The one-time All-Star averaged 6.6 points and 2.8 assists that season, while also contributing in the playoffs.
Antetokounmpo often brings the ball up the floor and tries to dominate the opponents, an ability that has helped him throughout his career. But in recent years, that has cost his team, as others have not been able to get on the ball as much.
In four games, Antetokounmpo is attempting 19.8 shots per game, which is the second most he has ever had in his career. Meanwhile, players like Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins have attempted the fewest shots they ever have in their careers. Bam Adebayo, on the other hand, has attempted 11.3 shots, the lowest for him since his third year in the league.
This shows that although Antetokounmpo's production levels have not changed, his teammates are not getting into positions to score as much as they would like. If the Heat are to improve their offence, they need to find the right balance and use Antetokounmpo in a better way. He definitely is a player who can continue putting up big numbers and impact winning, if the system is right around him.
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