Three Takeaways for the Milwaukee Bucks After Game 1 of the NBA Finals
An eventful Game 1 of the NBA Finals saw the Milwaukee Bucks, in their first finals appearance since Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) led them there in 1974, fall to the Phoenix Suns in dominant fashion. The first half was relatively close, but the Suns took over in the second half thanks to outbursts of scoring from both the usual suspects (Paul, Booker, Ayton) and Cameron Payne. How do the Milwaukee Bucks respond as they look to win Game 2? Here are three takeaways from Game 1 that Coach Budenholzer & Co. can use to adjust for Game 2.
Brook Lopez Got Bullied on Pick and Roll Defense
The Phoenix Suns made a point to run the pick-and-roll in the second quarter in order to get Chris Paul going after a relatively quiet first quarter. To do this, the Suns constantly got big man Brook Lopez on the switch onto either Paul or Devin Booker. This opened up the Suns' offense and gave them tons of options to score the ball. Paul or Booker would use this mismatch to pick up an easy jumper, fake and drive for a layup, or hit Ayton for an easy lob or layup. It got so bad that Coach Budenholzer played him for seven minutes in the second half, including no time in the fourth quarter.
In order to counteract this, Budenholzer could try to institute some pre-switches for Lopez, but unless Giannis is switched onto Ayton, this could only serve to give Ayton an easy mismatch. Coach Bud could also make sure that there is no switching on that pick-and-roll, and while that solution could have problems, Jrue Holiday is more than capable of going over or under screens aggressively and can easily pick up Paul or Booker coming off pick-and-rolls. As long as Lopez is not put in those compromising situations, the Bucks can contain the pick-and-roll.
Bryn Forbes Can Make an Offensive Impact, but…
He’s a defensive liability. Forbes played well in twelve minutes for the Bucks, especially in his nine fourth-quarter minutes hitting two of his four three-point attempts. Forbes was helping the Bucks inch closer to Suns with his shooting, but he was getting schooled defensively by Cameron Payne and Chris Paul down the stretch. This has been the trend for Bryn Forbes all season (in fact his whole career including his time under Coach Popovich in San Antonio), but there could be a way for Budenholzer to play Forbes without sacrificing defensive efficiency.
Forbes was lights out from beyond the arc all season (45.2% 3PG!), so playing him could help the Bucks offense to match the Suns’ great efficiency. His plus/minus in the fourth quarter (-1) is a perfect example of this balance. If anything, Forbes should act as a spark plug for the Bucks offense anytime in the first three quarters. His shooting could help the Bucks pick up the pace and even open things up for Giannis in transition. Coach Bud could find minutes for Forbes in the lineup, and perhaps faze an ineffective Jeff Teague out of the rotation to do so.
Giannis Looks Healthy
The basketball world took one huge collective gasp during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals when Giannis Antetokounmpo went down hard on Clint Capela’s leg, hyperextending his left knee. In a postseason mired by injuries to Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and more, seeing Giannis go down as hard as he did struck fear into the hearts of basketball fans everywhere. Luckily, that was followed by a collective sigh of relief when X-rays and MRIs showed no structural damage in his left leg. Giannis made his return for Game 1 and didn’t seem to miss a beat. Not only was that chase-down block on Mikal Bridges an incredibly triumphant moment for Giannis himself, but Giannis also added 20 points and 17 rebounds in 35 minutes. He was also one of three players in the Bucks rotation to have a positive plus-minus.
The plan with Giannis should simply be to play him more. It could really be that simple. The Phoenix Suns did a great job of trapping Giannis whenever he went into the paint, but that should help open things up for the rest of the Bucks offense, especially a relatively inconsistent Jrue Holiday.
