NBA Finals: #3 Milwaukee Bucks vs. #2 Phoenix Suns

[Real Deal]

This may not be Lakers vs. Nets, but I think this series could be really fun to watch.

I'm going with the Bucks in 6 games, as long as Giannis is healthy enough to make an impact.  Otherwise, Suns will win in five and celebrate on their home court.  The biggest factor is Jrue Holiday.  He put up 22/5 on 46% shooting (37% from three) against the Hawks, turning aggressive when Giannis was hurt.  And Middleton gave the Bucks 24/8/7...shooting wasn't exactly on par with his regular season numbers, but he still came through in the clutch a few games.

Phoenix is so damn good, though, when Chris Paul is looking to score.  That's why I'm worried about them.  Jrue is defensive-minded as well, and if he looks to lock up CP3 AND pus him to work on the defensive end, the Suns will lose some playmaking.  Booker actually did really, really well covering for CP3 while he was out, and had that 40/13/11 outing in Game 1 vs. the Clips.  Ayton had 20/9, and every single player from the Suns shot 50% or better outside of Saric and Moore, who took just one shot each and barely played (the Suns shot 55/41/100 that game).  If Paul is put on an island with Jrue, Booker has to be the guy to run the offense, not Payne or Bridges.  Payne needs to run with the second unit as much as possible.

Should be an exciting series, and I hope it goes seven.

[Built Ford Tough]

I went out to watch the Euro Finals with some friends (It's coming home? More like it's coming to Rome!!) and then went to the beach afterwards so I missed the game today. Just from looking at the box score though, what Giannis is doing is ridiculous. I've always liked him so I[m glad to see him balling out in the Finals and quieting some of the moronic haters.

[Real Deal]

Yeah, Giannis is on an entirely different level than everyone else in the Finals, honestly.  Middleton and Booker both had 40+ tonight, but Giannis' 26/14/8 was more impressive for me.  He was out there bringing the ball up at times, and running the offense.  And he's the defensive anchor.  You hear a lot about Anthony Davis doing things like that, but very rarely GA because he's just so dominant inside.

For me, this was it for Milwaukee.  If they lost this one, they were done GM5 on Saturday.

I'd like to see Holiday attacking the rim more.  He's not hitting his jumpers (he's had three bad games this series, shooting-wise).  He's obviously the elite perimeter defender on the Bucks, and he's a good rebounding PG, but if he's going to shoot 4-20, those shots need to go to someone else.  Typically, he's a good shooter, but out of 21 playoff games this season, he's shot under 40% a surprising 11 times.  He's a 50/39 shooter in the regular season.

The Bucks have two more chances to win in Phoenix.  Of course, they need one to win a championship.  They better hope it's on Saturday, because I don't think they can win a Game 7 on the Suns' home floor.

[Real Deal]

I will say that I believe the Bucks have figured out the Phoenix Suns.  Phoenix just needs to sustain their offense and not get into foul trouble, and they should win their first ring.  I'm still taking the Bucks in six.

[NomarFachix]

I took the Suns in 7. They got figured out but they're young and have time to adjust. 

[Built Ford Tough]

I think Holiday gets too much hate for his offensive struggles. He is giving Paul absolute fits on defense, picking him up before half court and hounding him all game long, which is forcing the Suns to run their offense through Booker or watch Paul turn the ball over 10 times a game. He's been a one man wrecking crew to the Suns offense on the perimeter. I don't remember the last time I've seen Paul look this flustered trying to initiate offense.

Then offensively, obviously nobody is pleased with the atrocious shooting percentages that he is putting up in this series (and really, all playoffs, but again, look at the guys he has been guarding), but you have to take into consideration the immense load he's shouldering on the defensive end in addition to the fact that the Bucks really don't have many options to initiate and run the offense. Don't get me wrong, Holiday is far from the prototypical point guard but when the other ball handlers on the team are Middleton, who is looking to get his, and Giannis who needs to conserve energy when he can, I get why he is taking such a big offensive load. Ideally he would be more productive, but I can live with it as long as he is basically eliminating Paul from the game.

[Real Deal]

21 hours ago, NomarFachix said:

I took the Suns in 7. They got figured out but they're young and have time to adjust. 

Yeah, funny enough, it's a team's youth that gives them the upper hand.  You don't have a bunch of "old heads" (other than CP3, haha) who are too stubborn to change the way they play.  I remember Nash wanting to run his seven-second offense in LA, with Kobe, Gasol and Dwight, and it wasn't going to work.  He also needed to take just a few more shots per game, and let Kobe handle the ball at times, and he just couldn't do it.

20 hours ago, Built Ford Tough said:

I think Holiday gets too much hate for his offensive struggles. He is giving Paul absolute fits on defense, picking him up before half court and hounding him all game long, which is forcing the Suns to run their offense through Booker or watch Paul turn the ball over 10 times a game. He's been a one man wrecking crew to the Suns offense on the perimeter. I don't remember the last time I've seen Paul look this flustered trying to initiate offense.

Then offensively, obviously nobody is pleased with the atrocious shooting percentages that he is putting up in this series (and really, all playoffs, but again, look at the guys he has been guarding), but you have to take into consideration the immense load he's shouldering on the defensive end in addition to the fact that the Bucks really don't have many options to initiate and run the offense. Don't get me wrong, Holiday is far from the prototypical point guard but when the other ball handlers on the team are Middleton, who is looking to get his, and Giannis who needs to conserve energy when he can, I get why he is taking such a big offensive load. Ideally he would be more productive, but I can live with it as long as he is basically eliminating Paul from the game.

Right, and I get that.  He missed a wide-open layup about 6 inches from the rim because he was tired.  I'm just saying I'd like for him to attack more, even if it's giving him less shots than he's taking.  I mean, if he's struggling all game, every game, then 20 shots is too many.  I'd rather him go at CP3, maybe get up around 10 shots or more at the rim, and put pressure on Paul, or even get him into foul trouble.  I don't know.

[Real Deal]

So when this happens:

Giannis - 32 PTS on 14/23 FG (61%), 9 REB, 6 AST
Middleton - 29 PTS on 12/23 FG (52%), 7 REB, 5 AST
Holiday - 27 PTS on 12/20 FG (60%), 4 REB, 13 AST

The Bucks are nearly impossible to beat.  That's damn near 90 points (88!) between their best three players, 38/66 shooting (58%).

The scary part is, Phoenix shot 55/68/91 as a team.  They were outrebounded by just 2 boards.  They had only 8 turnovers (to Milwaukee's 11).  The Suns had 9 steals and 5 blocks, and the Bucks only had 7 steals and 1 block.  The Suns did everything they were supposed to do, other than just make a couple extra shots at the end of the game.  That's it.

And this was in Phoenix.  Uh oh.

I've still got the Bucks in 6.  They are closing them out on Tuesday.  I don't see how the Suns are going to win in Milwaukee, especially when Giannis smells blood in the water.