2021 NBA Finals: Phoenix Suns vs Milwaukee Bucks

sick play by cp

Yah and the suns are doing the thing where they’re all playing well again and the bucks just never seem to get their best from their best at the same time

Jrue has definitely been better than Bledsoe was but they are just not gonna win if he plays like this

bledsoe i got but i'm pretty unclear on the conditions under which jrue plays well

he plays pretty good when Giannis is out

Jrues inconsistent shooting has def hurt them in these playoffs

i feel ridiculous piling on the overall ayton praise but he was perfect tonight, he plays such a smart and in control game, i'm a huge fan of what he's doing.

Omg don't miss ft

Yah Ayton is shooting like 70% + in the playoffs. Doing everything within the flow and offense and rebounding like crazy.

that was a bummer but I'm not too discouraged yet, Bucks lost the previous two Game 1s and actually managed to make it somewhat close in the 4th despite the Suns playing pretty much perfectly. plus Giannis actually looked pretty good, didn't seem hobbled at all really.

Budenholzer definitely has his hands full, they're not defending the pick n' roll well and seem helpless vs. teams that can actually use them to make midrange shots. also they have more than one player to worry about which makes this a bit different than the last two series

btw I ain't gonna complain about the officiating but it's nuts Middleton didn't get a single FT, dude was taking a ton of contact

the bucks being +15 from three on 44% shooting and losing by 13 doesn't feel like a great omen.

you have to assume the free throw disparity will equalize especially when the bucks go home but the suns don't foul a lot & aside from giannis the bucks don't have anyone who is gonna pound the FT line. middleton having zero FTs is an anomaly but he's also only averaging 4 FT per game in the playoffs. tucker, brook, jrue are not gonna shoot a lot of FTs. the bucks have won a lot of games in this postseason by getting a lot of extra points outside the normal flow of their offense and idk if the suns are gonna let a lot of that happen.

the bucks role players also played pretty well, getting 6-11 from three from portis, teague, connaughton & forbes is an A-level game from that group. i could see them having some bigger games at home but that might be the best they provide on the road in this series.

there weren't any peripheral factors that slanted against the bucks aside from free throws, a lot of what the suns did in this one feels repeatable to me. i think what it comes down to for the bucks is if they have more games where they're only getting 30 combined points from giannis and jrue it's going to be a tough hill for them to climb

Giannis was +1 in his 35 minutes so that's kind of a good sign. obviously it sucks to have them finally hit some 3s and still get crushed, but on the other hand CP3 ain't shooting 63% every game. ultimately the Suns just seem to have a gear that the Bucks don't. as Spottie mentioned they rarely have a game where their big 3 are all playing well at the same time. instead it's usually "Giannis was good but missed a lot of FTs, Middleton got hot for 5 minutes, Jrue mostly sucked" and that ain't enough to win against a team that pretty much plays perfectly. who knows, maybe the Suns will cool off, maybe Bud will figure something out, it's a long series but yeah that felt like a total blowout even if it wasn't on the scoreboard

suns have edges up and down the roster. think the refs missed calls when khris and giannis were getting hit, but it's hard for the bucks when the suns can put giannis on the line instead of letting him shoot every time he attacked in the 4th. really takes the momentum out of a comeback

bucks should fire Bud and hire Ty Lue to make adjustments before the start of the next game

ayton is gonna be a real force in the league

he's so good at winning rebounding battles

divincenzo is a big loss for the bucks in this matchup

Jrue has definitely been better than Bledsoe was but they are just not gonna win if he plays like this

― frogbs, Tuesday, July 6, 2021 11:18 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

bledsoe i got but i'm pretty unclear on the conditions under which jrue plays well

― call all destroyer, Tuesday, July 6, 2021 11:20 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

he plays pretty good when Giannis is out

― frogbs, Tuesday, July 6, 2021 11:22 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Jrues inconsistent shooting has def hurt them in these playoffs

― pure rim rest (Spottie), Tuesday, July 6, 2021 11:25 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

they gave up a ton for jrue and he has definitively not delivered

can they still fire bud if the bucks lose this, maybe hed do better under a different regime

maybe he could coach football

serious question though if they do fire Bud which better coaches are out there? like I would've loved Carlisle had they lost to the Nets but now that he's off the table the only one I can think of is maybe D'Antoni

they gave up a ton for jrue and he has definitively not delivered

― lag∞n, Wednesday, July 7, 2021 7:06 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

his shot has been off but I'm pretty sure they would've been hopeless vs. Brooklyn without him. he's played pretty good defense at least.

the bucks D has been great the whole offs and im sure jrue is a big part of that but for 3 1sts and a max deal you need more than a defensive specialist, and its not just his shooting thats been bad he really just has not been a factor on offense, looks like any other guy out there really

i definitely see that but i can't shake the feeling that it's a system thing, with the thread running through Bledsoe and now Jrue. something about the way Bud uses his PGs, or maybe it has to do with how much of the ball and the focus Giannis sucks up, idk

it could def be a system thing i mean jrue has been a very good player hos whole career

he's a very good player but he's never been a set it and forget it lead ballhandler where you would just give him all the touches and say ok my offense is going to be solid.

i do think if the bucks played with more continuity on offense they could clean up some of his poor decisionmaking.

it would be funny if the bucks won the finals and still fired bud

which they should probably do

that would be such a galaxy brain move, I would love it

that said seeing Jason Kidd land a fairly coveted HC job does not fill me with confidence that there is a viable upgrade out there

I want to believe that the switching on defense is the problem and the Bucks will recognize this and fix it but some part of me feels the problem lies deeper

Chris Paul has scored 30+ in back-to-back playoff games

The only other players in NBA history to do that in their 15th season in the league or later are Kareem, Kobe, and LeBron pic.twitter.com/za3euacJdx

— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) July 7, 2021

cp got that kobe

if the bucks win this series the jrue trade will forever be gravy. if they don't, it will/should be scrutinized heavily. not sure this makes sense but it's how it is

i do think it's true that they don't win the nets series w/ bledsoe at PG. however, their choice wasn't binary: either bledsoe, or trading every pick under the sun for jrue holiday. was there another move they could've made to upgrade at PG while conserving more assets? again if they win it doesn't matter but if they lose and it feels like they need more improvements, then their lack of trade flexibility becomes a real problem.

it does feel like this is like a scientifically engineered series to put jrue under the microscope, given that the suns have two all star level scoring guards mean jrue's presence is required on defense every night, and w/ giannis somewhat hobbled he needs to carry an offensive load as well

There’s plenty to criticize but he had some big moments in the Brooklyn series and they prob don’t beat Atlanta (once giannis went down) without him.

if they had traded half the assets it took to get jrue for kyle lowry and signed him to an extension that was for 60% of the money would they be better off? these questions only matter if this series goes one way

think theyre probably going to need jrue to play good to win

this kinda reminds me of mike miller on the heatles, if he has one huge game and they win the finals all other sins are forgotten

this was a cool play

Had to break the thread to give a quick shoutout to the Suns for being such a high IQ (High-Q?) club.

This possession was a great example of PHX taking what MIL wants to accomplish, and flipping it on its head.

🗣️SOUND ON pic.twitter.com/P7I102T5cC

— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) July 7, 2021

Lowry is 4 years older and may not be in the league in a couple years. the reason why the Jrue trade made sense is because Milwaukee felt this core could compete for the next few years. Losing in the Finals isn't necessarily proof that their plan didn't work out.

i definitely see that but i can't shake the feeling that it's a system thing, with the thread running through Bledsoe and now Jrue. something about the way Bud uses his PGs, or maybe it has to do with how much of the ball and the focus Giannis sucks up, idk

that's kind of my feeling on it. both players did well in the regular season but whatever he's doing with his PGs w/ Giannis on the floor is definitely something that can be schemed against.

Was impressed by Johnson knowing to flash to the middle there

i love solid fundamentals

Watch Cam Payne. pic.twitter.com/Z1yRGackc5

— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) July 7, 2021

i noticed that live. fantastic little-guy box out.

really like payne
he brings the payne

rip

Suns forward Dario Saric has a torn ACL in his right knee.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2021

he looked pained last night

poor dario :(

my kids report that the only buck they like is divincenzo

although they liked lopez better even he had hair “with leaves in it”

they are happy for cp3

they say ayton is underrated

i take everything they say on faith obv

sorry lopez better WHEN he had hair with leaves in it