Warriors Rookie Reveals Key to Defending Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Golden State Warriors turned in an incredible bounce back performance on Wednesday night, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks after a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics. Warriors rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis was key in the victory, finishing with 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks to go with some great defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Speaking with the media after the game, Jackson-Davis revealed the key to his success against Antetokounmpo, saying, "I've never faced anyone like him before... The person I've watched guard him in the past that's done a pretty successful job is Blake Griffin. Just sitting back and kind of allowing him to come to you, and then watching that spin move that he likes to do."
Jackson-Davis said his agents are good friends with Griffin, and talked about the former NBA superstar's defense on Antetokounmpo with the Warriors rookie in preparation for this game. Griffin was a starter for that 2021 Brooklyn Nets team that went seven games with the Milwaukee Bucks, and he was often tasked with the Antetokounmpo matchup.
As Jackson-Davis detailed, one of the more effective defensive strategies against Antetokounmpo is to back up, absorb the bump, and then try to go vertical at the rim. For the Warriors rookie, this worked very well, as he was able to reject the Bucks star multiple times at the rim.
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