"We beat them by 20 or 30 both times": Giannis Antetokounmpo boldly backs Milwaukee to reach Boston's level despite horrible start

On Monday, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks faced off against the reigning champion Boston Celtics. Even though they ended up falling short again, the former MVP is confident the gap between them isn't much.

The Bucks entered this season looking to bounce back from their struggles last year, but haven't gotten off to a great start. Through their first four games, they sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a 1-3 record. So far, their only victory has come against the Philadelphia 76ers, who were without Paul George and Joel Embiid.

Despite Giannis Antetokounmpo registering 30 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, the Bucks still lost to the Celtics by double digits. After the game, the superstar forward shared his thoughts on where he feels Milwaukee stands in terms of being able to compete with Boston.

"Right now, obviously we're not there," Giannis said. "But I don't think we are far off. I don't care about the record."

He then dove into how the season series played out between these teams last year.

"We played last year, twice here I think it was close games," he added. "Both times, we played them twice at home, was not close game. Beat them by 20 or 30 both times."

Following their win over Giannis and the Bucks, the Celtics are now just one of three remaining unbeaten teams this season.

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Damian Lillard speaks on relationship with Giannis Antetokounmpo

For most of his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the primary superstar on his team. However, that changed last season when the front office made a big splash and traded for Damian Lillard.

Seeing that both these players are used to being the face of their franchise, growing pains could come in terms of building a cohesive relationship. It seems the two are still trying to find the proper balance, but one of the stars is confident they can figure things out to win at the highest level.

On "The Knuckleheads" podcast, Lillard was asked about his relationship with Giannis Antetokounmpo. He cited that the main thing their bond as leaders need is the ability to hold each other accountable.

"Me and him got to be able to hold each other accountable," Lillard said. "It just means I got to be able to say something to you. And you got to be able to say something to me at all times.

"Now that we together, we both got to look over and say this a top 75 player too, and I got to trust him to carry this with me."

At this stage in their careers, Lillard and Antetokounmpo are capable of leading the Bucks to a championship. However, certain details must be worked out to attain that goal. According to each star's statements, they are certain that they will be able to overcome this obstacle and compete at a high level.