2021 NBA Playoffs Gamethread
- Thread starter JohnnyTheBone
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Then works the switch to get Connaughton on him which results in the Bucks forces to foul Ayton at the rim. It’s a CP3 frickin sploogefest!!
He’s looking to secure that 4th year on the max deal he’s going to sign in Phoenix after opting-out.
Giannis can't play 35 minutes and be 4th on the Bucks in shots if they want to win unless he's gonna get 25 FTA.
Booker and Crowder shot a combined 1-13 from three.....and the Suns still won comfortably by double digits.
He made them much, much better in the regular season. He should take some blame for the playoffs, but the real problem there is that they've built a roster that can't generate half-court advantages against locked-in defenses. All of their top 3 players are better as the 1A or 2 guy in that context.
They actually had some pretty impressive/lucky shot-making to even keep it in that ~15 point range last night.
He replaced Jason Kidd, arguably one of the five worst coaches in the league. Bud immediately installed a real offensive and defensive system, and he’s great at maximizing strengths, particularly with bench players. His problem is that he’s a terrible in-game coach and makes adjustments at a glacial pace, both of which have been fatal flaws exposed endlessly by better teams in the playoffs.
When your bench consists of Pat Connaughton, Bobby Portis, Bryn Forbes, and Jeff Teague I am not sure what, if anything can be done if your starters don't have it for the night
Not catastrophic in and of itself but it looked like Saric did his ACL in the 1Q so the Suns cannot afford another frontcourt injury or things could “maybe” become interesting.
I was very curious to see what Giannis was going to be like athletically. I was expecting him to be similar to Davis, which was really unplayable but gutting it out because he had too. On the contrary, he looked about 80% or so and played reasonably well and was maybe hurt by getting into foul trouble. If he can continue to improve as the series goes on, that will help Milwaukee out tremendously. Phoenix looked comfortable in the game, but a slightly better Giannis and a non-terrible Holiday game and they are right in the series.
Milwaukee is missing DiVencenzo, who was a role player who could step up every once and a while and give you 20+ points.
Milwaukee is missing DiVencenzo, who was a role player who could step up every once and a while and give you 20+ points.
A slightly better game from Devin Booker (1/8 from deep) and Jae Crowder (0/8 and 0/5 from deep) and Milwaukee has no shot.
DiVencenzo would have been nice to have on defense as perhaps his size might have made a difference. From what I saw (maybe 2/3rds of the game), Connaughton wasn't very successful on switches.
Also from what I saw, the game basically was that PHO got way more out their mismatches (Booker & Paul on MIL Big or Connaughton versus Middleton/Holiday on Booker or Giannis in the post). MIL tried switching, dropping, and trapping to no avail.
However, MIL also seemed at least a step slow last night. Will be interesting to see if their defense has another gear.
You can say that about anything; Milwaukee could get better games from Lopez/Tucker/Portis and then Milwaukee is back in it even with Crowder making more shots. Booker shot poorly from deep but still had a strong game, and Paul had a great game. I think it's reasonable to expect that Holiday will be considerably better moving forward, and Giannis' health improving (as well as playing at home) could swing the series, even though Phoenix looked very comfortable in Game 1.
To put it bluntly, I don't think Phoenix really played poorly and still won; they got strong games from their three best players and enough help from Bridges/Payne/Johnson to win the game easily. I think Milwaukee did clearly leave a lot to be desired when it comes to the performance of their best players, and that could be reasonably expected to improve as the series goes on.
I love Pat, but for a guy who can jump out of the gym, he doesn't move well laterally. I'd expect Phoenix to hump those mismatches until Bud does something different. And I'm not sure what Bud does differently, since he needs the shooting out there.
Through over 700 minutes this post-season, Holiday is shooting .417/.288/.674. Lopez had one of his better games, with 17 points on 7/14 and 3/5 from deep. Portis shot 47% from deep during the regular season, and is only at 31% in the post-season, so I suppose he has a chance of turning it around, but he's not really getting minutes. PJ Tucker is good defensively, which is the only reason he sees the floor. I'd let him take 25 open 3's a night at his 30% clip every day.
Milwaukee needs Giannis to be a complete monster (which he could be if he gets healthier) and Middleton to be exceptional. I don't see any reason to believe the other guys are going to all of a sudden turn it around.
That said, I think Paul regresses a little, and Booker makes more shots to counteract it. No chance Crowder misses every shot he takes in another game. Payne looked like he did earlier in the playoffs before rolling his ankle, so I would expect the same. Cam Johnson is shooting .506/.455/.889 in the playoffs. This game wasn't an outlier for him.
But the guy nobody talks about is Ayton. He's been, and continues to be absolutely awesome and is the true difference maker in this series.
All I'm saying is that based on what we've seen with these two teams, the odds are higher that the Suns actually play better, than the Bucks do.
Oh I agree the Suns are favored, especially if Giannis isn't 100%, if he is than I think it's closer to a toss-up.
And everyone is talking about Ayton, like all of the time.
It's the NBA, so there is a better than 50/50 chance this goes 6 games. It will be decreed, but I personally don't think this series is very competitive unless we see Giannis going to the foul line 20+ times and Middleton going all "Middleton against the C's."
Maybe they are talking about Ayton, and I'm just missing it. In fairness though, my ears may be a bit blocked up with all that Chris Paul splooge flying around.
CP3 appreciation is definitely #1, but I think "Phoenix was right to take Ayton over Luka" is a solid #2.
MIL's biggest problem to me in this series is a two part problem:
1. They aren't usually an outscore you team, they rely on their defense.
2. Chris Paul is murdering every defense they send out there... drop.... thanks for the free 1.2 PPP when he drains the free midrange at 60%+, switch... thanks, let me just get a foul on your best players... oh and some layups too... hedge... ah lets go to an excellent shooter for an open 3.
1. They aren't usually an outscore you team, they rely on their defense.
2. Chris Paul is murdering every defense they send out there... drop.... thanks for the free 1.2 PPP when he drains the free midrange at 60%+, switch... thanks, let me just get a foul on your best players... oh and some layups too... hedge... ah lets go to an excellent shooter for an open 3.
Agree on #2 which is their biggest issue.....but they led the entire league in PPG this season so I have a hard time saying they aren’t an out score you team.
I honestly think the Suns win in 5, and Chris Paul will be MVP. They are just too strong at too many positions and while a healthy Giannis is the best player by a good margin, 1) He’s maybe not that healthy 2) The 2nd and 3rd best players are on the Suns. Then after Middleton, it’s a whole bunch of other Suns.
Tough blow for the Suns as Dario Saric has a torn ACL. Sucks for him too with next season starting soon.
View: https://twitter.com/Suns/status/1412842484380565504
View: https://twitter.com/Suns/status/1412842484380565504
Thought that was mostly pace, but turns out they tied for 5th in Pts/100, with.... the Suns.
He was lousy in Game 1, but Holiday is coming two phenomenal games to close out Atlanta and is a max player with a good reputation as a two-way guy who can guard multiple positions. Booker is definitely better than him, Ayton you could make a clear case for, but I'd much rather have him than Bridges, Crowder, Payne, Johnson, etc.
Absolutely. The 6 best players in the series are evenly split
After that, I think you can make a pretty good argument that the Suns have 4 of the 5 next best and the Bucks player in that 5 (Brook Lopez) is vulnerable on switches defensively.
The thing that would worry me if I was a Suns fan is that they are extremely reliant on Ayton now. If he gets in foul trouble, I’m not even sure what they would do. Move Crowder to the 5?
Ayton rarely gets into foul trouble and can log big minutes comfortably in this format. I did mention yesterday that I view another frontcourt injury as their biggest threat over Ayton being in foul trouble. For his short rests it will probably be Frank The Tank or Crowder......I’d guess Tank in 1H and Jae in 2H.
Is healthy Giannis that much better than healthy Chris Paul in the playoffs?
I might ultimately land on Giannis if forced to choose, but it would be really close. Automatic half-court offense plus playmaking plus good defense is a killer playoff combo.
Is Paul better than Devin Booker?
On his podcast, Simmons said Paul was the #7 best player in the NBA and you would be crazy to rank him any lower. He had him ahead of Dame and I was wondering if Dame and CP3 swapped teams, would Phoenix be better, worse or the same? I think you could make a reasonable case for any scenario. I know Paul brings a lot of intangibles to the table, but he was also pretty bad in the Phoenix/Clippers series before having the killer Game 6. He was also very bad (and injured) in the Lakers series as the team was carried by Booker and Ayton. I think the praise is getting a little out of hand.
On his podcast, Simmons said Paul was the #7 best player in the NBA and you would be crazy to rank him any lower. He had him ahead of Dame and I was wondering if Dame and CP3 swapped teams, would Phoenix be better, worse or the same? I think you could make a reasonable case for any scenario. I know Paul brings a lot of intangibles to the table, but he was also pretty bad in the Phoenix/Clippers series before having the killer Game 6. He was also very bad (and injured) in the Lakers series as the team was carried by Booker and Ayton. I think the praise is getting a little out of hand.
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Yes, Chris Paul (at least the one we saw this year) is a much better player than Booker. He's a better shooter, better rebounder, much better defender and one of the best facilitators in the last 20 years. Literally the only thing Booker is better at is getting to the line (and some of that may be Paul is 35 and doesn't want to take the hits anymore).
Paul is an overrated (but still good) defender at this stage in his career. He is a superior playmaker (although Booker is underrated in that regard), and has better shooting percentages although that leads to a volume vs efficiency argument and which is more important in the playoffs is up for debate. Booker is one of the most complete scorers in basketball and Paul shoots better on far fewer attempts. In the playoffs Paul has had some real memorable moments but has also missed time and played at under 100%. Booker meanwhile has had some poor games but ultimately has carried the team as much if not more than Paul.
Paul was BAD in the Lakers series and he wasn't awesome in the Clippers series. When he came back he slowed Phoenix's offense down to a crawl and dominated the ball. He had a killer Game 6 which is what people will remember and he deserves credit for that performance, but kind of the only reason it got to Game 6 was because Paul came back and shot 19 for 60 in Games 3, 4 and 5.
Paul was BAD in the Lakers series and he wasn't awesome in the Clippers series. When he came back he slowed Phoenix's offense down to a crawl and dominated the ball. He had a killer Game 6 which is what people will remember and he deserves credit for that performance, but kind of the only reason it got to Game 6 was because Paul came back and shot 19 for 60 in Games 3, 4 and 5.
He's not the difference in this series, but I still can't get my head around why the Bucks traded Torrey Craig for cash to Phoenix at the deadline. For a team that had and has very little NBA level depth (nevermind playoff depth), it seemed foolish at the time to give away a competent - maybe not good but competent - 6'7" wing and even sillier now that he's on the opposing team rotating with Bridges, Johnson, and Crowder across multiple positions. He's not a shooter the caliber of Forbes or Portis, but I have to imagine he'd give the Bucks some decent minutes, particularly in small lineups that need flexibility. Just seems like such an unforced error at a position where they've consistently needed a lot of help this year.
Durability is a skill too (somewhat), and one that has held Paul back more than once over his career. It's pretty ironic that in the year (and playoffs especially) in which all of the stars seem to get hurt, Chris Paul is the one poised to lead his team to a title.
One of the things that has me excited about this playoffs (besides the early ejection of the Frankenteams, the Lakers and the Nets) was the opportunity for young stars to shine and the opportunity for perennial bridesmaid Chris Paul to finally win a championship. I just hope he makes it through the series, because the most Chris Paul thing to happen would be for him to get injured and then the Suns lose because of it.
He could barely lift his right arm over his shoulder and couldn’t shoot from distance due to the injury. He was still contributing in other ways despite not being able to shoot prior to recovering and being the best player on the floor virtually every game since.
Far from very bad but def injured. Still unsure of why he isn’t due every bit of praise for what he’s done this postseason (and regular season) and especially in G1 of The Finals.
He ate up Campazzo and has played very well over the past two games. If he continues to play well throughout the Finals he will deserve every bit of praise; but I don't think he has had a magical, dominant run in the playoffs and I think its reasonable to believe that Booker has been a better player than him.
I take issue with the notion of Booker having "The Mamba Mentality".
Kobe was an all-timer in terms of the competitor mindset
edit - this was postured in the pre-game show
Kobe was an all-timer in terms of the competitor mindset
edit - this was postured in the pre-game show
BUcks missing easy layups, giving up open 3 looks, not getting back on D that last possession...
Whatcha got Bud?
Whatcha got Bud?
