Toto Wolff believes assessments of Mercedes' season to date have been overly negative, even as Max Verstappen and Red Bull have control of the title race.
The Silver Arrows had Valtteri Bottas second and defending champion Lewis Hamilton fourth at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Hamilton is now five races without a win for only third time over a single season since 2014. Red Bull have won all five of those, with Verstappen triumphing in four.
Damage to his car apparently sustained over a kerb at Turn 10 saw Hamilton fall behind both team-mate Bottas and third-placed McLaren man Lando Norris.
But Wolff, despite describing himself as "a sceptical person, cup is half empty rather than half full", tried to look at the positives.
"First of all, the result looked worse than it was in terms of pace," he told Sky Sports. "We were stuck behind the McLaren.
"In terms of pace, we probably could have been there, maybe not enough to win the race but right there, which is a step forward.
"The damage occurred at Turn 10, over the kerb; I don't think he was particularly running too hard over the kerb – it was just the part that fell away.
"We looked at the loads and they were the same as in the laps before, so we need to find out why that happened.
"So, overall, damage limitation? Maybe. I think we're going to go to Silverstone, blow everybody away, finish one-two, 30 seconds in advance of everyone else."
He added: "We're one DNF away from being right there in the constructors' and in the drivers' championship, so this is far from over."
This was not the result Hamilton – still two victories shy of a landmark 100 – would have wanted to celebrate his new two-year contract.
But Wolff said: "The morale is good, but we have to be working on these feelings actively.
"If you come from a run of seven world championship titles, everything looks like a defeat, whatever result you have. I think this is a switch in mindset we have to achieve now.
"Today we finished second and fourth, it's not the end of the world. You see how happy the McLaren guys are about their position [P3] and I think we have to just recognise this is a tough, tough championship.
"This is the Formula One world championship and you can't expect every year to cruise away in the sunset.
"We will make everything that's needed to not make Red Bull do exactly that."
Perhaps Hamilton himself could use a more optimistic outlook, rueing "a lot of damage" despite insisting he "wasn't going over the kerb any more than anyone else".
"There were a lot of points lost today," Hamilton said, adding: "I would have been second. I was in second when all of a sudden it obviously broke.
"It would have been an easy second generally, but obviously not able to catch up with the guys ahead."
A home race for the seven-time champion at Silverstone is up next, but Hamilton said: "We're miles away from [Red Bull], so we've got a lot of work to do.
"We need all hands on deck, which I know there already are. They brought a lot of upgrades, clearly, over these last few races, and we haven't brought any.
"We've got to find as much performance as possible, otherwise this will be the result most often."
England's third ODI series clash with Sri Lanka was abandoned on Sunday after torrential rain in Bristol.
The match was initially suspended in the 34th over of Sri Lanka's innings due to rain, although play resumed after a delay of almost 40 minutes.
Dasun Shanaka hit an unbeaten 48 as the visitors posted 166 all out.
England, hoping to seal a 3-0 series win, never had the chance to respond, though, the match abandoned after relentless rain for around 90 minutes following Sri Lanka's innings.
England are next in action on Thursday in the first ODI against Pakistan in Cardiff, while Sri Lanka start their own ODI series against India on July 13.
Max Verstappen relished being able to deliver another win at the Red Bull Ring in front of his 'orange army' in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.
The Formula One drivers' championship leader secured a third straight victory and second at Spielberg in two weeks.
As at the Styrian GP, Verstappen led from start to finish having taken pole position on Saturday.
The Dutchman now has two poles, four wins, six podiums and 139 points at the Red Bull Ring, reserving his best returns at any circuit for Red Bull's home race.
"It was incredible, to be honest," Verstappen said. "The car was unreal, every tyre set we put on was really enjoyable to drive.
"It's pretty insane. I'm a bit amazed myself how it went – I didn't expect it to be like this.
"Incredible job by everyone to deliver something like this. Of course, when you go into the weekend, everyone sees you as the favourite, but it's never easy to actually always deliver what we did.
"It's a great effort by the whole team and also by Honda, I think the whole package...
"These two weeks, especially here, it's been incredible."
Verstappen had the support of a large, loud crowd, dressed in orange and cheering their man home.
"It was insane to see all the fans here," he added. "There's so much orange, it's incredible. A great motivation as well.
"Especially the last lap, there was a lot of orange all over the track. Thank you very much for coming."
Lando Norris, who recovered from a controversial five-second penalty, also earned encouragement from the fans, though, finishing third ahead of Verstappen's title rival Lewis Hamilton.
His run of 14 straight races in the points is the best of his career and the best ongoing streak in F1.
"It was a lot of fun," Norris said, before giving his take on the incident involving Sergio Perez. "It was a good race, exciting, but I'm disappointed because it should have been second place.
"I thought lap one was just racing really – he tried to go around the outside of me, which was a bit stupid. He ran off the track himself, I didn't even push him. I don't know.
"I was frustrated, but I'm also happy with P3. We had very good pace and I'm happy."
Valtteri Bottas clung to second in front of Norris, but the Briton was confident his McLaren could tussle with the best.
"I could keep up with him a lot, even in the dirty air – just not enough to get into the DRS," he said. "As soon as I got close to within one second, I started struggling too much.
"Shoulda, woulda, coulda, in the end.
"It's nice to know that we could be there and we could race them. It's probably the first race in many years I'm actually racing the Mercedes and the Red Bulls.
"Hopefully we can keep it up next time."
Spain greats Xavi and Andres Iniesta are inspirational figures for Italy's Nicolo Barella, although the Azzurri midfielder does not try to replicate their skill sets.
Barcelona legends Xavi and Iniesta formed a key part of the Spain side that won Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 – in which they thrashed Italy in the final – either side of lifting the 2010 World Cup.
While the Barca duo were more renowned for their creativity than goalscoring exploits, albeit Iniesta got the crucial strike in Spain's World Cup triumph in South Africa, Barella has established himself as a real goal threat for both Inter and Italy.
Indeed, the former Cagliari man opened the scoring in Italy's 2-1 quarter-final win over Belgium with a fantastic finish, teed up by some excellent footwork.
And while Barella is inspired by the Spain greats of the past, he finds it hard to compare his own game with theirs.
"They had great champions who inspired everyone, like Xavi and Iniesta," Barella told a news conference.
"It's easy to say that we were inspired, but all those who love football are. I have different characteristics, seeing me in them is difficult.
"The Spain side that won the Euros in 2012 had an incredible midfield. There were amazing champions there, here there are great players, but we hope we can reach their level and possibly do even better."
Italy inflicted a 2-0 defeat in the last 16 of Euro 2016 to gain revenge for their 4-0 loss in Kyiv nine years ago, and a final against either England or Denmark is the prize for the victor at Wembley on Tuesday.
"[Sergio] Busquets has been one of the best midfielders in the world for many years," Barella continued.
"Then they have Pedri and Koke. It will be a nice game, we'll try to beat their midfield and beat Spain.
"It will be a tough game, we are similar as we both want to dominate the possession. I hope it will be a nice game, we want to enjoy it in a fantastic stadium."
Italy did suffer a blow in the win over Belgium, with influential left-back Leonardo Spinazzola suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon.
"It was strange not to celebrate because one of my team-mates had suffered a serious injury," Barella said when asked about Spinazzola, who has travelled to Finland for surgery.
"It was the first time I didn't celebrate a win at the end of the game, all we can do is to make Spinazzola proud and celebrate for him."
Only three defenders – Andrew Robertson (nine), David Alaba (10) and Jordi Alba (11) – have created more chances than Spinazzola (eight) so far at Euro 2020, though Barella is confident that Chelsea's Emerson, who is set to replace the stricken Roma full-back, will prove an able deputy.
"Emerson and Spina have different characteristics, they are two great players and nobody is worried," he said.
"[Emerson] won the Champions League and he will help us as he's always done. He's played many games for us and we all trust him."
Max Verstappen eased to yet another victory at the Red Bull Ring in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, completing a triumphant triple-header in front of home support.
The Red Bull superstar and Formula One season leader won for the third week running to stretch his drivers' championship advantage to 32 points over Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen had become the first F1 driver to win three times at this circuit in the previous week's Styrian Grand Prix and led from start to finish again after claiming pole.
Hamilton's hopes of reeling in Verstappen – dismissed as "out of the question" after qualifying – were hindered by another fine drive from Lando Norris, with the Mercedes great starting where he finished in fourth.
Valtteri Bottas was the big mover, up from fifth to second, benefiting from keeping clear of controversy as numerous drivers – notably including Norris and Sergio Perez – tangled in costly fashion.
Verstappen displayed his superior straight-line speed from the outset to disappear into the distance, only to find his early progress checked by Esteban Ocon's crash that prompted a safety car.
The Dutchman – backed by swathes of orange-clad supporters – pulled clear again from the restart but team-mate Perez had more difficulty as he doggedly pursued Norris.
Norris' determination forced Perez off the track in an incident that was subsequently investigated.
Even Red Bull team principal Christian Horner dismissed the clash as "one of those things", but a five-second penalty for Norris was confirmed just as Hamilton passed him, having been held up for 20 laps – already around 10 seconds shy of Verstappen.
Perez's attempts to recover from his early setback saw the Mexican twice earn five-second penalties of his own for nudging Charles Leclerc out of his path.
However, Norris regained his composure in far more impressive fashion, serving his penalty and falling behind Bottas but then attacking Hamilton, getting ahead of the seven-time champion amid Mercedes tyre trouble for a third podium of the year.
MAX MAKING MOST OF HOME COMFORTS
Verstappen now has four wins, six podiums and 139 points at the Red Bull Ring, his best returns at any circuit.
Saturday's pole had seen him make Spielberg – Red Bull's home grand prix – the first track at which he has qualified first twice, following on from last week's effort.
Five victories and four poles have made this is his best season to date, but Verstappen has bigger fish to fry with the title in his sights.
UNLUCKY LANDO STILL THE BREAKOUT STAR
It was hard not to feel for Norris, who so bravely battled against Hamilton and then learned of his penalty for essentially holding his line.
Informed of the punishment, he first replied: "What for?"
Norris added: "What did the guy expect running around the outside?"
Regardless, he had built enough of a buffer to only fall to fourth and recovered to make the podium, meaning the McLaren man has now collected points in 14 consecutive races – his longest streak and the best ongoing run in the series.
Fernando Alonso, in the first 14 races of 2007, was the last McLaren driver to enjoy such a stretch of points returns.
IN THE POINTS
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +17.973s
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +20.019s
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +46.452s
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +57.144s
6. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +57.915s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) +60.395s
8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +61.195s
9. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +61.844s
10. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1 lap
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 182
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 150
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – 104
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 101
5. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – 92
Constructors
1. Red Bull – 286
2. Mercedes – 242
3. McLaren – 141
4. Ferrari – 122
5. AlphaTauri – 48
Wimbledon will open up to full-capacity crowds on Centre Court and Court One from Tuesday, after being given the go-ahead by the UK government.
The tournament operated at 50 per cent capacity on its main show courts during the first week of the championships, with it being designated a pandemic era pilot event.
Now Wimbledon is poised to welcome a full house on its two biggest stadiums from the start of the quarter-finals. The women's last-eight matches are due to take place on Tuesday.
It had previously been stated that Centre Court would function at full capacity on finals weekend, July 10-11, but the plan has been brought forward.
It means there will be full outdoor stadiums at a major sporting event in the UK for the first time since COVID-19 triggered a lockdown in March 2020.
The World Snooker Championship, an indoor event, welcomed a capacity crowd for its two-day final in May at the Crucible theatre in Sheffield.
In a statement, Wimbledon hosts the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said: "Following the successful staging of the first week of the championships, as agreed with the government's events research programme and in consultation with our local authority in Merton, the AELTC is pleased to confirm that Centre and Number One Court will feature 100 per cent capacity crowds for the quarter-finals, with Centre Court also at 100 per cent for the semi-finals and finals.
"This marks the first full outdoor stadiums at a sporting event in the UK since the pandemic began. The capacity of Centre Court is 14,979, and the capacity of Number One Court is 12,345. Capacity across the rest of the grounds will be reduced according to the number of courts in play.
"Ticket-holders will continue to be required to show proof of their COVID status on arrival, and are asked to observe the guidance around wearing face coverings on the move and supporting any additional mitigation measures in place."
Bayern Munich have confirmed defender Lucas Hernandez has had successful surgery on a knee injury.
Hernandez tore the medial meniscus of his left knee during France's 2-2 draw with Portugal at Euro 2020 on June 23.
Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said in a statement on Sunday: "We wish Lucas a full and speedy recovery. Our doctors are very pleased with the course of the operation. He will be available again in a few weeks."
Hernandez has made 62 appearances for Bayern in all competitions since joining from Atletico Madrid two years ago.
The 25-year-old has suffered only one defeat in his 42 Bundesliga games, while he did not lose a single one of the 25 league matches he played in his first season at the Allianz Arena as Bayern won the treble under Hansi Flick.
The German champions, now coached by Julian Nagelsmann, begin their title defence away to Borussia Monchengladbach on August 13.
Spain's confidence in their own ability never wavered despite initial criticism of their performances at Euro 2020, according to Mikel Oyarzabal.
Real Sociedad winger Oyarzabal scored the crucial spot-kick as Spain beat Switzerland 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Saint Petersburg to progress to the semi-finals.
Luis Enrique's side became the first team in European Championship history to score five or more goals in consecutive games after wins over Croatia and Slovakia. Indeed, Spain had not scored more than four goals in any of their first 42 matches in the competition.
However, their goal rush came after successive draws with Sweden (0-0) and Poland (1-1) in the group stage, and their profligacy returned on Friday when they managed 28 shots across 120 minutes, though only had the one goal to show for it.
Spain amassed 29 attempts across their opening two games, with 10 going on target, and though their quality was called into question, Oyarzabal insisted the squad always kept faith.
"Whether you have been unfair or not it is your point. We had plenty of confidence in this solid squad since the beginning," the 24-year-old said at a news conference ahead of the last-four clash with Italy at Wembley.
"We are together and it is a high-level squad. We were confident of doing great in this Euros and so we've shown it. Obviously, people are free to make their opinion, but we have never had any doubts. We have always had confidence in the current squad and we still have it."
While Spain have fired hot and cold, they have nevertheless scored 12 goals so far at the tournament, with Denmark and Italy (both on 11) their closest rivals in that regard.
The Azzurri have been one of the most consistent teams and surely dispelled any doubts over their credentials with a fantastic performance against Belgium on Friday.
First-half goals from Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne ultimately ensured progression, with Romelu Lukaku's penalty unable to inspire a Belgium fightback.
"It is going to be a very tough game. Italy has shown a high level," Oyarzabal said of Tuesday's showdown.
"I think they reach the semi-finals in a good shape, but we do too. I believe if we do the right things and we are efficient, we will have better chances to win. The most important thing is to be ourselves. Keep playing as we have done so far because I think we have played great games and we need to have confidence in ourselves.
"They are a great national team with top players, but I don't think we are lesser. We need to be confident. We can play a great game whoever our rival is. We are full of confidence in our plan and in what we will do."
Didier Deschamps will hold talks with French Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet next week to discuss France's Euro 2020 disappointment.
Pre-tournament favourites France topped a tough group containing Portugal, Germany and Hungary, only to be eliminated at the last-16 stage on penalties by Switzerland.
It marked the first time since the 2010 World Cup that Les Blues had failed to reach at least the quarter-finals of a major competition.
France's premature exit led to questions about Deschamps' future, with Zinedine Zidane being heavily linked with the job since leaving his position as Real Madrid boss in May.
Deschamps is under contract until after the 2022 World Cup and has been in charge of his country since 2012, lifting the World Cup in 2018 and reaching the Euro 2016 final in that time.
La Great insisted last week that the 52-year-old's position is not under immediate threat, but the FFF president plans to meet with Deschamps in the coming days.
"We will meet next week. I always let 10 days pass first," La Graet told Telefoot. "We'll meet in my office in Guingamp and spend the day together.
"Everyone has to think about what went right and what went wrong. We'll spend the day chatting. He's a friend, someone who has always been faithful. This is his first failure."
When asked about his recent comments of Deschamps' job being safe, La Graet said: "I didn't say that. I said we will have a discussion. We will speak about what went wrong."
France beat Germany 1-0 in their opening Euro 2020 game, but they then played out draws with Portugal and Hungary before losing on penalties to Switzerland following a 3-3 draw.
The world champions squandered a commanding 3-1 lead against the Swiss in Bucharest and were knocked out 5-4 in the shoot-out.
Les Blues have now been eliminated in their last three games in which they played extra time in major tournaments, as many as in their first 11.
Reflecting on his nation's shock exit in the first knockout round, La Graet said: "I feel disappointment more than anger. We must remember we had a difficult group.
"We finished top of our pool, and switched off for 10 minutes against Switzerland. Not everyone played at the same level, but we can't throw away everything we've previously done.
"We have quality players and coaches. We will analyse things that didn't work next week. Sometimes it's small details."
France are back in action on September 1 with a World Cup qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Primoz Roglic has elected to abandon the Tour de France after a brutal first week.
The 2020 runner up – a pre-race favourite to take the famous yellow jersey – endured an opening eight stages marred by crashes and injuries.
He fell twice during the first three stages, badly bruising and grazing almost the entirety of his left side during an incident on stage three.
In a gruelling first Alpine stage on Saturday, Jumbo-Visma rider Roglic crossed in 175th, third to last, having dropped 35 minutes on the leaders, and on Sunday he decided to call time on his campaign.
"We took the decision altogether with the team. It doesn't make sense to continue the way it was going at the end," Roglic said in a statement from his team.
"Now we'll definitely try to recover and focus on the new goals."
Roglic came across the finish line on Saturday alongside 2018 winner Geraint Thomas, who has also seen his general classification hopes dashed after finishing 33 minutes off the pace.
Tadej Pogacar is now the clear favourite for the yellow jersey, following a remarkable ride from the 22-year-old defending champion on Saturday.
Gareth Southgate hailed the performances of Luke Shaw after the England left-back continued his superb individual campaign at Euro 2020.
Shaw, who came into the tournament on the back of an impressive season with Manchester United, teed up two of England's goals in the 4-0 thrashing of Ukraine in Rome on Saturday, creating three goalscoring chances in total.
It marked his second and third assists of Euro 2020, after the left-back – who turns 26 on July 12 – also provided the cross from which Raheem Sterling tucked home the opener against Germany in the last 16.
Having missed England's opening game, the former Southampton defender has made each one of Southgate's starting XIs since.
From his four appearances at Euro 2020, Shaw has created eight chances – more than any other England player, with five of those coming from open play. On average, he has created 2.15 opportunities, and 1.07 'big chances', per 90 minutes.
Mason Mount (four) is his nearest rival within England's squad in terms of chance creation, while no Three Lions player has attempted as many passes (including crosses) into the box as Shaw's tally of 21.
Of defenders taking part in Euro 2020, only Jordi Alba (11), David Alaba (10) and Andrew Robertson (nine) have created more opportunities so far.
He has also proved his worth defensively as part of a back line which has yet to concede across the opening five games (a European Championship record), winning three of the five tackles he has attempted and making four clearances.
"His [Shaw's] performances have improved every game," Southgate told reporters.
"He wasn't with us for a long time until March, which was his first game in a few years. You usually play those games trying not to make mistakes rather than flourishing.
"He feels comfortable in the environment now and is comfortable in how we want to play. His delivery was great.
"We've talked a lot in the week about set-piece goals and we put more emphasis on it. It looked like we would be dangerous in training yesterday and usually that transfers into the game and that's what happened."
Asked of his role in England's attack, Shaw told ITV Sport: "There’s no secret. Defensively and in attack I'll help the team however I can, I did that with two assists, but there's no time to lose concentration, we've got another massive game.
"Four days, we've got to enjoy the special night and be ready for a massive game against Denmark."
"I honestly don't know if he's going to get tired of being praised every day," Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni mused after Lionel Messi's latest masterclass.
Once again, Messi was at the heart of all of Argentina's attacking play, providing two assists before netting a goal of his own with a sublime late free-kick in Saturday's 3-0 Copa America quarter-final win over Ecuador.
The 34-year-old tops the Copa America charts for goals and assists, with four of each.
As Scaloni suggests, it is hard to stop praising him. There arguably are not enough superlatives to describe Messi.
This Copa may have been viewed as the younger Neymar's time, on home soil, but the numbers back up the veteran Messi so far.
On a grander scale, Messi has now scored 76 goals for Argentina, one short of Pele's 77 for Brazil.
Only Pele has scored more goals for a CONMEBOL nation, meaning Messi – who will play his 150th cap for Argentina in the semi-finals – is on the verge of another remarkable feat.
There is no shortage of individual accomplishments which could be listed off for the six-time Ballon d'Or winner but as Argentina progress deeper at the Copa America in Brazil, the question of team success at international level looms for Messi.
He has never won a Copa America, nor the World Cup, coming close to the latter as 2014 runners-up in Brazil.
Fourteen-time winners Argentina, as a nation, have not lifted the Copa America since their second all-time top scorer Gabriel Batistuta helped them to the 1993 title.
Messi is playing at his sixth Copa, with Argentina finishing as runners-up three times during that period.
If La Albiceleste overcome Colombia in the semi-finals, they will likely face nemesis Brazil in the decider at the Maracana, the same venue where they lost the 2014 World Cup final.
The current crop is vastly different to the abundantly talented side from 2014, but Scaloni has made this group tough to break down, with a dependence Messi's individual brilliance in attack.
Scaloni's Argentina have gone 18 games unbeaten now, while they have only conceded once in their past four games at Copa.
This side have also scored in the first half in 11 consecutive matches. On Saturday against Ecuador they dearly clung on to a 1-0 lead for long periods of the second half, repelling several attacks with a resolute appproach as Ecuador had more possession (54 per cent). It is not the first time under Scaloni this has happened successfully.
So is this Messi's best shot at international success? Is it his last chance at the Copa, with the next event scheduled for 2024?
That remains to be seen for the 34-year-old, who is currently a free agent after his Barcelona contract expired on June 30, although he is expected to re-sign and play at next year's World Cup.
But the ingredients are there for that breakthrough success for both Messi and Argentina.
As the list of individual accomplishments and accolades continues to grow, achieving that elusive international team success with Argentina would solidify Messi's legacy. The time is now.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was as active as he could be during the Milwaukee Bucks' decisive Game 6 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Missing a second consecutive game after hyperextending his left knee, the Greek star paced the sidelines throughout the game, exhorting his team-mates on while wearing a mask on his face and a sleeve on his knee.
Now that the Bucks have advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974, the key question will be whether Antetokounmpo will be in the lineup for Tuesday's series opener at the Phoenix Suns.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer had no interest in exploring that topic following the win, saying only that it would be an ongoing conversation with the team's medical staff over the next few days.
"You have to listen to the player and then you have to listen to the sports performance group, and at some point [general manager] Jon Horst and myself are part of the conversations, but it's just a day-to-day thing," Budenholzer told reporters.
"We'll update it when appropriate. The conversations between he and myself and he and the sports performance group, it's kind of private and we'll see where he is each day."
Despite the ongoing questions about Antetokounmpo's availability in the Finals, Budenholzer took time to appreciate his star's enthusiasm even when he is unable to take the court.
"He's coming off the bench, he's halfway on the court, talking to Bobby [Portis], talking to Brook [Lopez], talking to different players; to see that kind of leadership, that kind of connection, that kind of commitment from a player you know would be dying to be out there and playing," Budenholzer said.
"I just loved his energy on the bench. I loved his just togetherness that he brings to our group.
"And there's a bittersweetness to him not being able to play these last two games, but I think he understands that there's a way we want to play basketball and there's a kind of team and organisation that we want to be able to play and just play ball, and he's a big part of that.
"But if he were to miss a game or if he's on the bench for whatever reason, we need to be able to play and we need to have guys that have confidence and we need to be able to get stops and do all the things that go into winning.
"While he's incredibly important to us, I think he appreciates what his teammates can do. And we certainly do as an organisation appreciate what he did, and then what everybody else was able to do tonight and the other night without him."
Saturday night, it was Khris Middleton's 32 points and Jrue Holiday's 27 that ensured Antetokounmpo would at least have a chance to return.
Even if Antetokounmpo is not ready to open the series against the Suns, his team-mates appreciated the effort he gave on the sidelines tin Game 6.
"This is probably the most I've seen Giannis talk, like the whole game," Holiday said. "I know usually when he's on the court and he's running, racing through five people and blocking shots, you're tired. He's tired and he's playing.
"But man, he's motivating everybody, he's motivating me, telling me to push the pace, telling me to keep being aggressive and telling me to lock people up.
"I feel what he brought to the game today and how he led us - again, he is pretty quiet, but how talkative he's been has been awesome for us and very, very encouraging."
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