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By Matt Levine
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Milwaukee Bucks may be in some trouble. After a promising win over the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee went up against the New York Knicks and was trounced.
The final score was 116-94 and the effort level just wasn't there from the start. New York ran all over Milwaukee and the Bucks' nightmare start to the season continued.
They have opened the year up with a record of 2-7 despite having their two stars in the lineup for almost every game. It's been a troubling blend of inconsistency and strange tension coming from the locker room.
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Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has normally been more laid back when it comes to his approach but he has seemed more frustrated than usual. After the game, Antetokounmpo ripped into the Bucks' effort level in the game.
"Did we compete the previous game? Yes. Did we compete the two [games before that]? Yes. Did we compete today? No," he said. "... If you don't compete your ass off, you're not going to win the game. [You have to] at least give yourself a chance.
"We came to New York after playing great last night. Then we come here and lose by 30. Are you OK with not competing? I'm not OK with that s---. We've got Boston in two days. We don't compete, we're going to lose by 30."
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Milwaukee has a big game against the Boston Celtics on Sunday and Antetokounmpo knows they'll lose if they don't improve their effort. This is him trying to send his teammates a message but it may not resonate.
The stark reality is that the Bucks may not be as good as many believed they would be entering the season. Even with the greatness of Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, Milwaukee may not have enough.
In the new NBA, it's not enough to have two-star players to win. Teams need stars and strong depth to compete with the loaded teams across the league.
"At the end of the day, we've got to compete," said Antetokounmpo, who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. "Teams are not just going to give us games. They're not going to feel bad for us.
"We've got to compete every single possession. Every loose ball, we've got to get a body on the floor and put it on the line. But we didn't compete at all."
There is still time for the Bucks to turn their season around but the clock is ticking. The NBA is relentless and if they aren't careful, the year could slip away from them fairly quickly.
For more Bucks and NBA news, make sure to head over to Newsweek Sports.
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