Giannis Makes Major Admission On Eastern Conference With LeBron James On Lakers

Lakers star LeBron James is out of the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2010. Milwaukee Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo said the conference playoffs have become really open since LeBron’s departure.

“I didn’t see it as open,” Antetokounmpo said. “But now that I look back and see how everything went, it’s definitely open, not having LeBron in the East and not trying to go through him.”

“We’re happy,” Antetokounmpo said after the big game. “But at the end of the day, our job is not done. We gotta protect our home; we gotta be able to get Game 2.”

The Bucks lead the Toronto Raptors 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron dominated the Finals from 2011-18 as player with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.

The Eastern Conference has featured a dominant player or team running the whole thing and preventing other talented teams from making the Finals.

Bill Russell and Bob Cousy led the Boston Celtics to East titles from 1957-1966. The Moses Malone-Julius Erving Philadephia 76ers and Larry Bird’s Celtics were the only teams representing the conference from 1980-1987. The Bad Boy Detroit Pistons took the scene from 1988-1990. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won the NBA Finals from 1991-1993 and 1996-1998.

Antetokounmpo may like the open nature of the East playoffs, but that may not happen as soon as this year.

He is the game’s best and most talented player, and has a great chance to lead the Bucks to the NBA Finals in the next few years. Antetokounmpo will turn 25 in December, and he already averaged 27.7 and 12.5 rebounds for his 60-22 team.

The Eastern Conference doesn’t have many title contenders at the moment.

The Philadelphia 76ers owned the third seed in the conference. The Raptors and Celtics may lose their best players to free agency this summer. The Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets are the only teams that finished with winning records.

Antetokounmpo may become the next Jordan or LeBron. He is the player who forces East conference teams to play for second place season after season.

Is he the next LeBron?