Harden Exits Early, Nets Still Dominate Game 1! 6.5.21
It’s a Saturday and we have the official start of the 2nd round of the playoffs, starting with the best series of them all, Bucks vs Nets. This should be fun.
(3) Milwaukee Bucks vs (2) Brooklyn Nets
Milwaukee Bucks (0-1)
The main problem was the defense. Offense was a little disappointing as at times they got away from what was working. The Bucks dominated the paint as expected, but they couldn’t hit anything from outside. This was the game for them to take, with Harden leaving 43 seconds in. But KD and Kyrie dominated and the Nets reigned in 3’s and their bench was far better. The Bucks have to play a lot better to beat this team. Brook Lopez was exposed defensively and it seemed like the Bucks were overmatched with talent, despite the fact that the Nets only had 2/3 Big 3 members and no Jeff Green.
The first quarter was how the game should have been, the Bucks dominating down low. Giannis had 10 points in the first because of off-ball scoring. He was the roller on screens a couple of times and got right to the rim. He got an easy dunk off of a cut. The Bucks were using Giannis perfectly. Defensively, PJ Tucker was starting and he was on KD. He did a pretty good job but KD hit some shots. Kyrie was also good but for the most part, it was tough shots.
The first quarter was all scoring but the Bucks played really well. Neither team could stop each other, the Bucks just had to keep doing what they were doing. Spoiler Alert, they didn’t. Giannis was put into more isolation plays against Blake Griffin and he took a few jumpshots. He made a few, but that’s not making the Nets defense work at all. Turnovers hurt the Bucks and the Nets got out in transition a bit. The Bucks fell behind with the Nets quick pace and their inability to guard KD and Kyrie.
The Bucks had 11 offensive rebounds and 42/61 points in the paint in the first half. But they couldn’t stop KD and Kyrie who combined for 32 in the first half. Middleton was 4/12 and the bench was awful. The Bucks also shot 4/19 from 3. So while the rebounding, 2nd chance points, and paint domination was cool, the Nets dominated everywhere else.
The 3rd was just the Nets going at Brook Lopez. Every pick and roll or handoff seemingly had Lopez involved. Lopez’s drop coverage was getting exposes but he stayed out there and the Nets blew the game open. The Nets hit 5 3’s in the 3rd and the Bucks hit 0. Turnovers led to more runouts and the Nets took control of the game, running away with it for the dominating Game 1 win.
Giannis had 34 points and 11 rebounds but also 5 turnovers as he was the problem we all thought he would be in this series. Lopez had 19 points and 5 offensive rebounds, but he was so bad defensively. I know there aren’t better options necessarily off the bench, but 27 minutes seems like too much. Holiday and Middleton combined to shoot 13/42 (31%) from the field in this game. Holiday couldn’t stay in front of Irving and Middleton was very, very bad.
The bench and shooting was nonexistent. The Bucks shot 6/30 from 3 and they missed 8 free throws. The lost the bench battle by 7 and their 14 turnovers led to 18 points for the Nets.
The Bucks need to make lots of changes. I think Giannis needs to play more than 35 minutes. With no KD and Kyrie, this is the game for the taking. Giannis wasn’t out there when KD and Kyrie were and the Nets were good in those minutes. The Bucks drop coverage might work against a weak offensive team like Miami, but it won’t work against perhaps the greatest offense ever.
Lopez can’t play drop coverage or he just doesn’t play as much and Milwaukee goes small. The Bucks bench has to be better. Middleton and Holiday have to be better offensively and Holiday has to actually be physical with Kyrie who seemingly got to his spots all the time.
The good thing for the Bucks is they can’t shoot that bad and Middleton and Holiday aren’t likely to shoot this poorly again. But defensively, they need to do a better job making KD and Kyrie make tough shots. They can’t allow the Nets bench to dominate like they did. So that means playing your key guys 40 minutes of trusting they can play better.
I knew the DiVincenzo injury would be big, but it looks so much worse because Forbes, Teague, and Connaughton all can’t defend. The Bucks are really going to miss him in this series. The Bucks had their chance to steal Game 1 with no Harden but their schemes were awful and their players underperformed. The good news is they can’t get much worse but a lot has to change before Game 2.
Brooklyn Nets (1-0)
Yeah, this team is good. I called Harden the most valuable member of the Big 3 and I still stand by that. When he got injured, I thought the Nets would lose. Instead they dominated the 2nd half as their offense was amazing. Ball-movement, shooting, everything was clicking. They looked like they were the much better team as they dominate Game 1 at home, taking the 1-0 series lead.
James Harden left the game after playing just 43 seconds, that hamstring still bothering him. But the Nets didn’t miss a beat offensively. KD and Kyrie were very good from the jump. The problem was that they couldn’t stop Giannis as a roller and they were getting killed on the boards. That would be the theme of the first half, the reason the game was close.
But the Nets were relentlessly attacking Brook Lopez. 32 combined for KD and Kyrie in that first half along with 7 3’s gave them the lead. They shut down Middleton (4/12) in the first half and they 11 Bucks offensive rebounds were killing them. But the Nets solved their defense was scoring more.
They attacked Brook Lopez again and again with screens and handoffs. They forced turnovers and watched as the Bucks bricked 3 after 3. The Nets got out in transition and they ran away with things in the 2nd half as they absolutely shredded the Bucks.
29 points and 10 rebounds for KD who was great as usual. 25 points and 8 assists for Irving, another great night. But all the credit in the world goes to the Nets support pieces.
18 points and 14 rebounds for Griffin who was great. He hit some 3’s, had great hustle, and did a pretty good job on Giannis. First career double-double for Blake in the playoffs as if he brings this to the table every game, look out. 19 for Joe Harris who hit 5 3’s. The Bucks as a team hit 6.
Mike James had 12 off the bench as he had some very good moves and got to the rim a few times. Claxton and Shamet had good minutes. Bruce Brown was decent. All of the Nets bench had a positive impact as they all collectively filled the hole that James Harden left in the offense.
The Nets shot 47% from the field and 38% from 3 with 15 makes from downtown. They only shot 9 free throws but they did a good job of not fouling Giannis, who only got 3 free throws himself. The Nets only had 8 turnovers and they forced 14, which led to 18 points. If they can force that many turnovers and get that many more possessions, it’s literally impossible to beat them.
25 assists showed that the ball was flying around, even with no James Harden. No word on Harden’s status for the rest of the series, but if they play like this and they’re getting Jeff Green back soon, look out. The Bucks are going to play better and shoot better in Game 2. The Nets have to be ready for adjustments. But whenever they see Brook Lopez, they have to attack. Their bench is a lot more talented than Milwaukee’s and you saw that in this game. The Nets have the blue-print on how to win without Harden. They can definitely take this series by storm.
What Are Your Thoughts From Game 1 Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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