What Is Going On In Milwaukee? CP-3 Takes Over Game 1 For Phoenix! 6.7.21
It’s a Monday night of NBA basketball and we have two games of the 2nd round today.
(3) Milwaukee Bucks vs (2) Brooklyn Nets
Milwaukee Bucks (0-2)
What was that? What was that? Harden was out again and yet you didn’t adjust at all and got your butts whopped again. Brook Lopez tried to guard Bruce Brown to “hide” on defense and yet he was still targeted and even more crazy is the fact that he stayed in the game. PJ Tucker got into foul trouble and because the Bucks don’t have any defense off the bench, welcome to the game Bryn Forbes. That ended up going about as well as you would expect it to go.
The offense just looks not prepared. The Bucks had almost a week for this series and they have been dismantled by a team missing Harden and Jeff Green. There is no ball/player movement with just 14 assists, just jacking up 3’s and contested shots. Khris Middleton is being asked to do a lot more than he can handle and it’s shown. 6/23 in Game 1 and now 7/20 in Game 2. 13/43 (30%) for the series. Giannis kept settling for jumpshots against Blake Griffin. Why? Giannis can easily dominate that matchup.
They also didn’t use Giannis off ball because logic, so he didn’t do nearly as much as he can. Jrue Holiday only shot the ball 10 times when Joe Harris was guarding him. It’s just a mess, if I haven’t illustrated that enough already. The shooting (8/27 from 3) continues to be poor. No adjustments from Bud trying to attack the Nets limited size. No putting his players in position to succeed. No trying new lineups because Brook Lopez is bad, no, nothing.
This team hasn’t learned anything from the past two years as they look shell shocked. The Nets don’t have chemistry, experienced coaching, or defense and yet they have easily dominated Games 1 and 2. The Bucks need a response and fast or this series is over. If they lose even one game at home over the next two games, series over. It’s as simple as that.
Brooklyn Nets (2-0)
On the other end of the spectrum, you have the Nets, who are just beyond good. They hardly played together, this is Steve Nash’s first playoffs, and the defense is one of the worst ever for a team that is this favored to win a title. Yeah, but the offense is good so none of that matters. Even if this is Nash’s first playoffs, he makes Budenholzer look like a toddler.
He exposes Lopez by making Bruce Brown the screener and attacking him. He puts KD on the wing to maximize his leverage. They’re making Giannis take jumpshots and make the Bucks just jack up shots. But the ball movement, oh it’s beautiful. With no Harden you expect more isolation, yet they are swinging the ball, methodically moving the defense to get the best shot, no matter who’s on the floor. They had 27 assists tonight and 25 in Game 1, all without Harden who averages more than 10 per game.
32 for KD on 67% shooting. Nobody can stop him. 22 for Irving, 13 for Harris and Brown. Shamet, Claxton, and James have all been really good in this series, just giving the Nets good effort and production on both ends. The Nets shot 52% from the floor, 50% from 3 with 21 makes. They only shot 7 free throws but they held the Bucks to 9, a testament to their great defensive effort.
It’s looking like the Nets are unbeatable and Harden can take all the time off he needs. He can drink all the strawberry “smoothies” he wants, take all the time he needs because quite frankly, this team doesn’t need him. Or at least is appear to be this way. This team is so deep, so talented, they have dismantled the Bucks, who I thought were really the only team that could give them troubles. Assuming they win this series, I wouldn’t be scared by Atlanta or Philly, certainly not Atlanta. Philly could be a worry with their size, but I mean, the Nets have done a pretty good job with Giannis all things considered. Not to jinx it or anything, but the only thing that can stop this team are injuries. I just don’t see anybody beating what they have going on right now.
(3) Denver Nuggets vs (2) Phoenix Suns
Denver Nuggets (0-1)
It looked like Denver had a shot there to win this game. For a moment. After a good start to the 3rd the Suns dominated the end of the 3rd and then CP-3 swept Denver under the rug with a dominant 4th quarter. Jokic and MPJ struggled and the Nuggets couldn’t stop the Suns starting 5, with 4 of them scoring 20+ points. The Nuggets didn’t shoot well or get to the free throw line. The Suns dominated the 2nd half as it’s clear that this is going to be much harder than the Portland series. Denver needs more offense and hope for the best on defense? I really can’t tell you how they stop Phoenix, not really going to sugarcoat that.
The first half was solid for Denver. They got out to a 11-4 start as they played with a fast pace. Jokic was getting whatever he wanted and the Nuggets were getting good looks. They were forcing turnovers, getting out in transition, Jokic was 5/6 in the first, it was a good start.
The Nuggets started the 2nd on a 10-3 run with Jokic on the bench, getting a 7-point lead. After that it was just trading buckets. Neither team could stop each other. The Nuggets led by 1 at the half behind 3 guys in double figures, 15 for Jokic, 12 for MPJ, and 11 for Campazzo who was very good in that first half on both ends. The one disparity in that first half was free throws, the Suns had 8 and Denver had 2.
Denver dominated the paint, 30-22 as they were playing fast, their way. The Nuggets bench was solid, it looked like we were headed for a close game. Denver started the 3rd on a 12-3 run, pushing their lead to 10. Upset alert? Not today. The Nuggets led by 10 at the 8:13 mark of the 3rd. Here’s how the rest of the game went;
Phoenix went on a 28-12 run to end the 3rd. Denver closed the quarter shooting 4/17 from the field and Jokic was 1/7. The Nuggets went from being up 10 with just over 8 minutes left in the 3rd to being down 6. The avalanche didn’t stop there. Phoenix shot 70% from the field in the 4th, led by CP-3 who was a perfect 6/6 from the floor with 14 points. Jokic didn’t score in the 4th as Denver got run out the gym in that 2nd half.
Jokic and Ayton both played 36:25 in tonight’s game as the Suns mirrored Jokic with Ayton. The Suns were a +13 in those minutes. Ayton only had one foul in the game, none of them coming in the 2nd half. Jokic was settling for jumpshots and not attacking. He was 3/12 in the 2nd half with just 7 points. He was awful, his worst game in this playoffs. He wasn’t kidding when he said Ayton played him better than anybody. He has to attack Ayton and make him work. 1 foul simply isn’t going to be enough in a series where they need Jokic to be the MVP.
MPJ was 1/5 in the 2nd half. He also struggled. Aaron Gordon attacked Booker had 18 points. Cool, only if he could stop Booker on the other end.
MPJ and Jokic were poor, Austin Rivers was 2/7, Monte Morris was 1/10, Denver shot 35% from 3 and they got just 6 free throws as they weren’t aggressive. The Suns got lots of points off turnovers and fastbreak points.
The adjustments are simple offensively, get Jokic in the block and make him aggressive. Don’t settle for outside shots, like Jokic did. MPJ has to take better shots than just contested shots off screens. It makes it too easy to guard him when he’s just shooting stupid shots. Denver has to get Phoenix into foul trouble, mainly Ayton.
I could go on about the offense but defensively this team is challenged. Sure they could overcome it in the Portland series when the Blazers played no defense. But the Suns have a defense and a lethal offense. That’s a tough combo I don’t think Denver can stop. Their best wish is to hope the Suns miss their 3’s and Denver just has to score. That’s their only real way out of this.
Phoenix Suns (1-0)
The Suns 2nd half showed their dominance. In the final 20 minutes of this game, the Suns outscored Denver 64-38. They shot 74% from the field in that span. 4/5 starters had 20+ points. Ayton locked up Jokic as the Suns were rolling. I don’t see how they don’t win this series. Their defense has shown they can slow down Ayton and Denver’s defense is like swiss cheese, they don’t have the bodies to guard all that the Suns can offer.
23-5-5 for Bridges who was very good. He wasn’t very good offensively against the Lakers but he hit his 3’s and did a very good job on MPJ in the 2nd half, holding him to 1/5 shooting. Crowder had 14 and solid defense.
20 points and 10 rebounds for Ayton who has been unbelievable this postseason. He forced Jokic to be a jump-shooter and held him to 3/12 shooting in the 2nd half. He has been so good through 7 games for the Suns this postseason on both sides of the ball.
21 points and 8 assists for Booker and 21-6-11 for CP-3 who had 14 in the 4th to put the game away. The bench was solid and the offense was very aggressive. 17/20 from the line, 54% shooting overall. The Suns had 18 points off turnovers and 13 fast break points. Great game overall.
I like how they mirrored Ayton with Jokic, playing them the same minutes. Ayton could play aggressively with only one foul for the whole game, it made it easier to play defense with no Ayton foul trouble. That’s why he can’t pick up early fouls. He didn’t in this game and you saw the results. The Suns should win this series pretty easily if they play like they do in the 2nd half of this game. Not to get too ahead of myself, but Western Conference Finals? Maybe?
What Are Your Thoughts From The 2 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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