2021 NBA Finals: Bucks win title 4-2 over Suns

[TheRealMcCoy]

 

[Kip Smithers]

28 minutes ago, TheRealMcCoy said:

It's bad enough their basketball takes, but how they handled the Rachel Nichols situation was nasty.

Lol if I speak...

[Broncofan]

2 hours ago, Kip Smithers said:

I mean Suns scored more than double amount the threes and both Middleton and Holiday shot terribly from field and loss by single digits basically. Bucks could be encouraged by that. 

In theory, for sure - but when you add in the context on why both happened - the Bucks playing off the 3 shooters so at least 25 of those 40 attempts were great, open looks (and it might have been 30+), combined with the wing and perimeter length that the Suns D offers.....it's tough.   Give Bud credit for once - he changed it up completely this game scheme wise on D - and the Suns adjusted.   On D,  the Suns perimeter D is really underrated.    We may see another game or 2 where 2/3 of the Bucks big 3 struggle because of the D.

There's likely going to be 1-2 games where the Suns could run cold from 3's - again, though, for MIL to win games, their big 3 has to outplay PHX's big 3 by a lot, because the rest of the Suns' rotation outplays the Bucks' rotation.     Last night Ayton was quiet with 10 pts, but in the end the big 3 tally was MIL 70-64, even with Giannis' career game.     That's not going to do it.

So many things have to swing MIL's way vs. PHX.....not impossible in a single game, could easily see it go down 1-2x still....just hard to see it go down 4x in the next 5 games.   Still, until the Bucks lose at home, they have hope.   Just gotta be worried given how things have gone down.    PHX couldn't shoot from 3's game 1, and yesterday they got dominated inside on both ends until the 4Q (when the Suns depth caught up to the Bucks, they were gassed IMO).    2 totally different game styles played out - and PHX won by double digits on each one.   That's gotta be discouraging to say the least.

Edited July 9, 2021 by Broncofan

[Pugger]

9 hours ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

And that was my worry for the Bucks. They shot lights out last game from down town and still lost by double figures. Now Giannis has a monster game but they revert back to shooting subpar from down town and the result is the same. I thought the Suns role players would play better but it was mainly Bridges who was awesome. Crowder actually hit some shots so that is always a plus. I can't believe though how many possessions CP3 wasted towards the end of the game. He got lucky on a three he hit after a few offensive rebounds as that possession was bad and he had so many others just like that one. Booker had hit three 3s in a row and they went away from him for no apparent reason. 

Middleton and Jrue were terrible offensively and if just one of them was good the Bucks could have won. They should play better at home and the role players may shoot better from the field but they have to make some adjustments defensively. Going with Giannis at the 5 works well and Bud can go to that more but Lopez was really good defensively for much of the game. I'd like to see them go zone from time to time and when Lopez is not there, keep switching and make CP3 isolate every single time trip down. He will get his but he will also kill his fair bit of possessions by dribbling the air out of the ball. I get that the Bucks want to protect the paint but they gave up way too open looks in the corner. You have to force CP3 to be a scorer and take his kick outs away. I'd take my chances there rather than giving Phoenix open three after open three.

Bucks can get back in the series but Middleton/Jrue have to at least play CP3/Book close. Can't just get dominated the way they did tonight.

The Bucks need someone who isn't as hot and cold as Middleton is.  The Suns are the best team in the league right now.  I doubt any team in the East could beat them in a best of 7.

[J-ALL-DAY]

33 minutes ago, Pugger said:

The Bucks need someone who isn't as hot and cold as Middleton is.  The Suns are the best team in the league right now.  I doubt any team in the East could beat them in a best of 7.

Suns are the best healthy team of the postseason for sure, but that's as far as I would go. As for no team in the East could beat them? I mean Nets with decent health would likely beat them and at full health beat them with little to no issue. 

Anyways, Middleton does run hot and cold but he's had some big clutch performances at home all postseason. I would expect him to play better. As well as Giannis played last night, I would still like Jrue to initiate the offense more and run more high pick and rolls with Giannis. This will get Jrue in a better rhythm from the opening tip. Middleton just has to shoot better and he usually does at home. 

Suns just play too clean of a game for the Bucks to not bring their A game. CP3 having six turnovers yesterday was something you never see and they still ended up winning by double figures. 

Low key big plus for the Suns with depleted depth after the Craig/Saric injuries are that they get two days off the rest of the way. Will help them not get worn down if they series goes 6 or 7 games. 

[Blackstar12]

Watch Middleton get 30/10 game 3. He’s such a frustrating player to watch lol.

Edited July 9, 2021 by Blackstar12

[squire12]

28 minutes ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Suns are the best healthy team of the postseason for sure, but that's as far as I would go. As for no team in the East could beat them? I mean Nets with decent health would likely beat them and at full health beat them with little to no issue. 

Agreed.  Bucks without Donte affects there rotation.  Easier to play Holiday/ Donte/ Middleton/ Tucker/ Giannis and get both solid offense and defense.

28 minutes ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Anyways, Middleton does run hot and cold but he's had some big clutch performances at home all postseason. I would expect him to play better. As well as Giannis played last night, I would still like Jrue to initiate the offense more and run more high pick and rolls with Giannis. This will get Jrue in a better rhythm from the opening tip. Middleton just has to shoot better and he usually does at home. 

Agreed.  Giannis dominating the ball is a negative for Holiday.  

28 minutes ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Suns just play too clean of a game for the Bucks to not bring their A game. CP3 having six turnovers yesterday was something you never see and they still ended up winning by double figures. 

Suns also shot 20 of 40 from 3 and only won by 10.  33 point difference from the arc.  

28 minutes ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Low key big plus for the Suns with depleted depth after the Craig/Saric injuries are that they get two days off the rest of the way. Will help them not get worn down if they series goes 6 or 7 games. 

Bucks need to take care of business at home and hope some of the Craig/Saric injuries benefits later in series

[J-ALL-DAY]

3 minutes ago, squire12 said:

Agreed.  Bucks without Donte affects there rotation.  Easier to play Holiday/ Donte/ Middleton/ Tucker/ Giannis and get both solid offense and defense.

Agreed.  Giannis dominating the ball is a negative for Holiday.  

Suns also shot 20 of 40 from 3 and only won by 10.  33 point difference from the arc.  

Bucks need to take care of business at home and hope some of the Craig/Saric injuries benefits later in series

True, but the Suns won game 1 by double digits while having a 15 point deficit from the three point line. The Bucks haven't been consistent form the three point line all postseason long.

Giannis is a monster and will need his touches but he can get them even if Jrue initiates the offense and when Giannis rolls to the basket, it will attract the entire defense leading to a wide open corner three. It's baffling to me that the Bucks don't run more of this. We have seen all postseason Giannis having big games and the team still have average offensive performances. The two games Giannis didn't play vs the Hawks, the team had offensive ratings of 119 and 128 while for the entire postseason their offensive rating is just 112...And if you take those two games out, it would be even worse. Those two games it was Jrue who was running the show and he got to the paint at will and created so many open looks for others and the offense flowed well. You always want your best player to touch the ball damn near every trip down but I don't think the Bucks just need to give Giannis the ball and get out of the way. He's looking to just mainly score and attack and not getting others shots...And you can't really blame him when he's either getting fouled or scoring each time he shoots. But that doesn't always maximize the others and the offense as a whole. 

Defensively, the Bucks put a lot of emphasis of protecting the rim but you can't keep giving up the corner three. Switching is honestly the best defense against the Suns as that will force them to play for isolation ball but will take away the open threes. I wouldn't overreact to Paul getting mismatches on switches, just let him go one on one and live with the result. He's not a hungry scorer and his first instinct is to pass and you take that away from him. See if he can be a big scorer for the entire series. 

[squire12]

1 hour ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

True, but the Suns won game 1 by double digits while having a 15 point deficit from the three point line. The Bucks haven't been consistent form the three point line all postseason long.

And Phoenix offset the 3 point deficit by getting to the line 10 more times.  Bucks didn't offset the 3 point difference at the line by the same.

1 hour ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Giannis is a monster and will need his touches but he can get them even if Jrue initiates the offense and when Giannis rolls to the basket, it will attract the entire defense leading to a wide open corner three. It's baffling to me that the Bucks don't run more of this. We have seen all postseason Giannis having big games and the team still have average offensive performances. The two games Giannis didn't play vs the Hawks, the team had offensive ratings of 119 and 128 while for the entire postseason their offensive rating is just 112...And if you take those two games out, it would be even worse. Those two games it was Jrue who was running the show and he got to the paint at will and created so many open looks for others and the offense flowed well. You always want your best player to touch the ball damn near every trip down but I don't think the Bucks just need to give Giannis the ball and get out of the way. He's looking to just mainly score and attack and not getting others shots...And you can't really blame him when he's either getting fouled or scoring each time he shoots. But that doesn't always maximize the others and the offense as a whole. 

Fully agree

1 hour ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Defensively, the Bucks put a lot of emphasis of protecting the rim but you can't keep giving up the corner three. Switching is honestly the best defense against the Suns as that will force them to play for isolation ball but will take away the open threes. I wouldn't overreact to Paul getting mismatches on switches, just let him go one on one and live with the result. He's not a hungry scorer and his first instinct is to pass and you take that away from him. See if he can be a big scorer for the entire series. 

Need to make Paul work on both ends.  He can dominate the ball and expend energy, and make him defend over ball screens and possible switches on defense 

[J-ALL-DAY]

43 minutes ago, squire12 said:

And Phoenix offset the 3 point deficit by getting to the line 10 more times.  Bucks didn't offset the 3 point difference at the line by the same.

Fully agree

Need to make Paul work on both ends.  He can dominate the ball and expend energy, and make him defend over ball screens and possible switches on defense 

Yeah, but I was just pointing out even when the Suns didn't have the advantage from the three point line, they still won by double digits. They have won both ways fairly convincingly.

Agreed, have to make him work and use energy on both ends. But that's why if you continue putting him in pick and rolls with Giannis as the roll man, he's going to have to work extremely hard. Letting Giannis isolate and attack himself allows CP3/Booker to conserve energy on the defensive end. You have to force them to close out on shooters and make multiple rotations. Isolating lets them off the hook. 

[Kip Smithers]

8 hours ago, Broncofan said:

In theory, for sure - but when you add in the context on why both happened - the Bucks playing off the 3 shooters so at least 25 of those 40 attempts were great, open looks (and it might have been 30+), combined with the wing and perimeter length that the Suns D offers.....it's tough.   Give Bud credit for once - he changed it up completely this game scheme wise on D - and the Suns adjusted.   On D,  the Suns perimeter D is really underrated.    We may see another game or 2 where 2/3 of the Bucks big 3 struggle because of the D.

There's likely going to be 1-2 games where the Suns could run cold from 3's - again, though, for MIL to win games, their big 3 has to outplay PHX's big 3 by a lot, because the rest of the Suns' rotation outplays the Bucks' rotation.     Last night Ayton was quiet with 10 pts, but in the end the big 3 tally was MIL 70-64, even with Giannis' career game.     That's not going to do it.

So many things have to swing MIL's way vs. PHX.....not impossible in a single game, could easily see it go down 1-2x still....just hard to see it go down 4x in the next 5 games.   Still, until the Bucks lose at home, they have hope.   Just gotta be worried given how things have gone down.    PHX couldn't shoot from 3's game 1, and yesterday they got dominated inside on both ends until the 4Q (when the Suns depth caught up to the Bucks, they were gassed IMO).    2 totally different game styles played out - and PHX won by double digits on each one.   That's gotta be discouraging to say the least.

Wouldn’t say so many things have to break their way. They’re big 3 have yet to have big games at same time. Middleton is consistently inconsistent some nights he’s gonna miss those shots and other nights he’ll make the those exact same shots. Jrue tbh I have less faith in because he’s been cold pretty much all playoffs. Bucks role players will play better at home. Bucks can very well win both games at home. With their size, no way they should be letting Suns getting so many offensive boards. 
 

Giannis will be Giannis. He just needs one of Jrue/Middleton to help him these next two games and they’ll tie up the series 2-2.

[BStanRamFan]

On 7/7/2021 at 11:25 AM, BStanRamFan said:

We didn't learn much?

• Bucks do not have the bench to compete with what the Suns can offer. PHO proved they struggle with small ball lineups (LAC), but MIL doesn't have the personnel to put that type of lineup on the floor.
• Brook Lopez is being hunted for on switches. If he stays with Ayton, it's a bucket. If he stays on the guard, he's too scared to come out so it's an open jumper (which PHO shot poorly from deep 32%). Portis thinks he can come out on guards and just gets BLOWN BYE.
• Saric injury hurt a little, but Cam Johnson played very well for his minutes. I expect him to get more and Frank Kaminsky to pick up a mop and wipe sweat off the court in Game 2.
• Jrue has been inconsistent all playoffs, but couldn't buy a bucket.

I don't see how the Bucks get a game other than maybe Game 3 in MIL. 

Update from Game 2:

• Bucks do not have the bench or personnel to compete with the Suns.
• Lopez played better, but if Giannis is playing his best ball at the 5, then you can't play them together and you can't stagger Giannis' minutes because the Bucks are lost without him. Lopez still odd man to me even though he feasted against the Suns without Ayton on the floor.
• Cam Johnson still playing very well.
• Jrue Holiday still inconsistent.

I was on Suns in 6. I would like to reduce that to Suns in 5.

[BStanRamFan]

36 minutes ago, Kip Smithers said:

Wouldn’t say so many things have to break their way. They’re big 3 have yet to have big games at same time. Middleton is consistently inconsistent some nights he’s gonna miss those shots and other nights he’ll make the those exact same shots. Jrue tbh I have less faith in because he’s been cold pretty much all playoffs. Bucks role players will play better at home. Bucks can very well win both games at home. With their size, no way they should be letting Suns getting so many offensive boards. 
 

Giannis will be Giannis. He just needs one of Jrue/Middleton to help him these next two games and they’ll tie up the series 2-2.

Last night was the Mikell Bridges game. He will come back down to earth.

We still haven't seen the "Jae Crowder game" we know he's good for.

Unless the big 3 of MIL puts up 85 points in 4 games this series, they have no shot. The team has zero depth and their personnel is a horrible matchup for PHO.

Game 1 big 3: 59pts, lost by 13

Game 2 big 3: 70pts, lost by 10

[stl4life07]

7 hours ago, Pugger said:

The Bucks need someone who isn't as hot and cold as Middleton is.  The Suns are the best team in the league right now.  I doubt any team in the East could beat them in a best of 7.

A semi healthy Nets team would beat the Suns. Semi as in if KD and Harden/Kyrie was healthy. A fully healthy Nets team with all of their Big 3 would beat the Suns. The Nets beat the Suns twice in the regular season. Once with just Harden in Phoenix in that big comeback. The other was in Brooklyn with KD and Kyrie. 
 

As great as I’m loving seeing CP3 get his chance to FINALLY win a championship to shut people up about his greatness but never winning a title, it’s frustrating that we was just a KD toe on the line away from seeing Nets v Suns where I do think Harden would’ve been closer to 100% and Kyrie being back on the court playing. That would’ve been more fascinating. Instead we get Giannis who is having a great series in terms of stats and being a force in the paint but Middleton is inconsistent all playoffs long and Holiday has no showed. It’s the equivalent of the Superbowl with the Bucs and Chiefs. Mahomes is great but he can’t do it without an OL. Meanwhile Brady the vet has all the time in the world and was carving up the Chiefs. It was just painful to watch from a general football fan because you know if the Chiefs had a healthy OL the game would’ve been better. If Middleton and/or Holiday just show up to help Giannis the series would be a lot better. Bucks have no shot right now. It’s a mismatch. 

Edited July 9, 2021 by stl4life07

[beekay414]

We'll be back here in a week with the series tied.