2021 NBA Finals: Phoenix Suns vs Milwaukee Bucks

What an insane game

middleton went through the entire middleton cycle over the course of the game

Feel like I cycled through every possible emotion those last 2 minutes

🎵: kitty craft, "Par 5" pic.twitter.com/DZ2pd8lH9F

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) July 18, 2021

Game of the year

Jrue was incredible on Both sides

Brian Windhorst said Rich Paul and Adele are dating and that game was their first public appearance

— pickuphoop (@pickuphoop) July 18, 2021

very klutch

lol

well, brian would know.

how did State Farm know

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiYGxlr74mw

state farm insurance? wow more like wake (forest) harm clairvoyance boom roasted

ha, i had forgotten about that commercial.

i listened to the lowe post where windy got to drop that he knew adele was dating rich paul and wondered how many other weird little nuggets he has in his head that he's just waiting for the right moment to talk about.

This was only a week ago!

https://pagesix.com/2021/07/11/adele-shops-at-outlet-mall-with-rumored-boyfriend-skepta/

speaking of it feels like Nets Game 7 was six months ago, what a rollercoaster this has been

one of my closest friends is spending $1500 on a standing room ticket for Game 6. he doesn't exactly have that kind of money but he's been a lunatic for the Bucks his whole life and feels like he has to do it. everyone I've talked to about it is extremely nervous and hopeful. I'm starting to get jitters already. last 2 games were extremely cool but let's have an easy one alright boys???

I feel like a) the way this series has been and for that matter how the whole bucks playoff run has been how can it not go 7 b) I am terrified of the Bucks' ability to win game 7 on the road

I'm terrified of zen Giannis, the whole bucks team's composure is just so much better than it was in that Nets series

OK let me ask a question about The Dunk. Is the fact that Giannis was almost past the basket and flying out of bounds as he caught the pass and sort of had to reach backwards to put it in an indication that the pass was slightly not where it should have been, or was the pass the only place it could be in order to ensure CP couldn't disrupt?

Pass was perfect, Giannis’ athleticism was necessary to complete it but that’s teamwork baby

I'm terrified of zen Giannis, the whole bucks team's composure is just so much better than it was in that Nets series

I've watched too much of this team (especially in playoff scenarios) to get anywhere near comfortable but I will admit that this team has looked very locked in and well-coached since Hawks Game 4. I read an analysis of Game 2 of the Finals which said based on shot quality the Bucks win that game 87% of the time which does correlate with what I thought I was seeing - Suns making tons of difficult shots while the Bucks were just a little off on everything

yeah suns have required ridiculous shotmaking to keep games close

monty williams never using timeouts has come back to bite him too, I really wanted a timeout before the CP3 turnover in game 4. when you have two timeouts and under a minute left and the bucks have already set their transition defense, using a timeout seems pretty free of downsides

has a team ever come back from 3-2 down after blowing a 2-0 lead? Theoretically suns could still totally win but psychologically it seems really difficult to avoid being spooked by the way they lost the two close ones

not quite that, but 2013 heat were down 2-1 then 3-2 goddammit

yes, quite often in fact

https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/7game-series-outcomes.fcgi?format=22111&status=3-2&pattern=A0A0H1H1A1

one of those was against the Bucks 11 years ago. Milwaukee scored a whopping 143 points over their last two closeout games. their leading scorers were Brandon Jennings, John Salmons, and Carlos Delfino

wow what a great little bbref tool!

seems really difficult to avoid being spooked by the way they lost the two close ones

extremely talented and successful nba athletes who've both won and lost hundreds of close games are usually pretty confident about their ability to shake off a loss and always feel like they can win the next game. everyone is going to bring their 'A' game.

The Syracuse Nationals (now the Sixers) beat the Ft. Wayne Pistons in the first two games of the 1955 finals, then lost the next three, then won the last two, game 7 by a single point. No game decided by more than 7 points. Sounds like a good series!

http://www.shrpsports.com/nba/teamseas.php?link=Y&team=Phi&season=1955

Sort of stunning that teams up 3-2 are only 9-8 to win the series

Oh man I am loving this footage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF9Pm8fjzdg

xp how many of the 8 that lost were up an away game?

I can't see the Suns getting too spooked but they're definitely in a bad spot. Game 5 they shot 55%, including 68% from 3, and lost. Game 4 they shot 51% to the Bucks 40% (!!) and still found a way to lose. Booker, as great as he is, is not likely to make so many circus shots for the remainder of the series. Jrue is running CP3 around the court so much that he's totally gassed in the 4th. The Bucks seem to be peaking right now, Giannis will likely play all game if he has to, and the Bucks have had pretty dramatic home/road splits. The Suns path to victory basically involves Middleton and Holiday combining for 12/40 or something like that, which definitely can happen but idk, they seem so locked in right now. Narratives change so quickly though, I mean outside of idiots like me no one thought Bucks in 6 could actually happen after Game 2

yes, quite often in fact

wow thank you for that! I have zero memory of that bucks-hawks series, but some of lebron's biggest moments are on that list

everyone is going to bring their 'A' game

glad to hear it

now did any team who's up 3-2 in these circumstances win game 7 after blowing game 6? all the wins in that bbref are 6-game series

Oh man I am loving this footage

pivotal turnover in one of those games looked just like CP's in Game 4. At 4:03

xp how many of the 8 that lost were up an away game?

I think all of them were!

Fort Wayne allegedly threw the series (according to charley rosen anyway): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_NBA_Finals

poor late game management in any case

Sort of stunning that teams up 3-2 are only 9-8 to win the series

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, July 19, 2021 2:27 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is specifically in series that are 2-2-1-1-1 format in which the lower seed has lost the first two and won the next three. overall, teams up 3-2 in a playoff series are 193-36

also worth mentioning that none of the teams that lost in that situation are anywhere near as good as the Bucks are - this situation actually hasn't happened in the finals yet

anyway counterpoint to my above post is that the Suns were basically 2 plays away from winning it all on their home court, and Game 3 with Ayton's foul trouble and Booker's rare off night can be looked upon as an anomaly. it'll probably be another nailbiter.

i think it will stay close but as long as mil keeps playing like the bigger and stronger team that they are, they've got this.

There has been a Scott Foster sighting in downtown Milwaukee. No announcement about officials for Game 6 has been made.

— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) July 19, 2021

Bucks in 6

been a very even series but id give the bucks the edge since theyre up a game

got to go seven

its been so evenly matched that it's dumb to predict anything, all I know is if Milwaukee loses it'll be in extremely excruciating fashion

but losing in excruciating fashion is the suns' whole thing!

well Wisconsin sports as a whole have been utterly cursed for a decade, they've lost playoff games in almost every heartbreaking scenario you can imagine. but these Bucks decidedly do not have that sort of loser energy, in fact they are a blessed team right now, almost like they're scripted in a Disney movie. Get revenge on the team that embarrassed you last year! Hit your lowest point, get your heart broken by Durant, then come back to win in one of the tightest Game 7s of all time! Lose your good-natured superstar to a horrific injury, but wait it's okay! The rest of the team rallies without him and he's back for the Finals! Fall in an 0-2 hole and then win consecutive games on some of the sickest plays ever!! The only thing left is for "Bucks in 6" to happen......again!!!

I mean there were people smugly saying "put a fork in em" in just about every round. I wish I had clipped and saved all the Tweets.

that was mostly just me a bunch of times