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Milwaukee Bucks Start Season With Impressive Dismantling of the Nets

The Milwaukee Bucks clinched their first NBA title in 50 years last time around, but, for some reason, not many pundits felt that they would manage to repeat that feat. Following their opening game exploits against the Brooklyn Nets, we imagine that quite a few 'experts' are not re-thinking the matter.

Though the Nets were without Kyrie Irving, a loss that could be resolved in a very speedy fashion, nothing should be taken away from the efforts of Mike Budenholzer's talented and capable team.

Milwaukee didn't mess around, getting off to a blinding start by going on a 21-4 run in the first quarter before running out 127-104 victors against the early season favorites. No doubt this loss will have an effect on the odds comparison market that still has Brooklyn at (+250) while the Bucks can be picked up at (+900).

It was, of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo who did the lion's share of the damage, scoring 32 points and picking a team-high of seven assists. The Nets would have been wiped off the court if it wasn't for Kevin Durant, who picked up 32 points, four assists, and two blocks, and his comments at the end will have certainly alerted Irving, with the impressive star-turn remarking;

"We were climbing uphill all game."

It remains to be seen whether Irving will reverse his stance on getting vaccinated against COVID-19, and one imagines that the Nets won't hang around forever for the 29-year-old to make the right decision.

Currently, Irving is out of action and can't participate when Brooklyn is playing at home, and the organization isn't willing to pick him for the games that he is actually eligible to play in, leaving him out in the cold.

The display wasn’t one that impressed Nets coach Steve Nash and in many ways this might, for once, take away some of the media attention from Kyrie Irving. Nash’s assessment of the performance was straightforward, and accurate;

"We weren't very good,” Steve Nash before adding. “If you're not playing at a high level against the champs, you're not going to win.”

In taking down the Nets, it was clear that Milwaukee was taking up just where they left off, following their NBA title-winning game with an excellent display in the first game of their defense.

It's that dedication to building on the Championship win that was typified by Antetokounmpo's display, and indeed his post-match comments;

"We're part of history," Antetokounmpo said. "I'm excited. But now it's over with. We've got to focus on building good habits, keep moving forward and keep playing good basketball, and hopefully, we can repeat this again this year, next year, and all the years that we're going to be here down the road."

Once again, Giannis has able support from Khris Middleton, and though Jrue Holiday sat out the second half, Pat Connaughton also weighed in with the points to help ease the Bucks past a Nets side that will be keen to erase this opening day defeat.