What a debut game by Dame Lillard, and if I'm not mistaken, he has now own the record in Bucks history for most points in a debut game. He puts in a show with 39 big points, And Giannis with 23 points.
But you have to give up to the 76ers as well, without Harden they almost steal this one for the home court of the Bucks. But in the last 4 minutes Dame took over the game, perfect in free throws and then his beyond the arc attempts. Not sure what they stick with Oubre guarding him though, I mean Lillard is just going around circles with Kelly and then made those 3's.
Lillard certainly knows how to close out a game. He essentially saved the Bucks in that match, and without him, Giannis might have struggled to secure the win.
However, when you examine the distribution of points, it's not all that surprising. Players who don't have as many touches might struggle to find their rhythm, especially Middleton, who has a significant contract with the team. In the game, he only attempted 5 shots, in contrast to Giannis and Lillard, who had at least 20 attempts each.
Coach has changed, and there is a major change in their roster, so I guess let's expect the fact that the ball will be focusing more on either Dame and/or Giannis, and not on Middleton anymore like we used to see a few years ago.
Middleton is still a deadly shooter, and other teams must think of that, but the team relies on both their all-star players. There's nothing wrong with that I guess, knowing that both of them are kind of unstoppable. The only problem at that game against the Sixers is, both of them shot kind of awful. Combined they are 19/42, and Dame shot 4/12 from threes. He also got some open threes that ended up as a miss. I guess I can consider that game a lucky win for them. Well, if only Harden played then we might see them losing.
Overall, a win is a win, and despite that awful shooting from both Dame and Giannis, they still won. I just can't imagine if both of them will have a good night. Giannis focusing on the paint while Dame sinking those threes. As for Middleton, he will still be the 3rd option, but I don't expect him to score that much anymore.