Nets in 7. Honey Bun's orchestration of the Net's offense proves to be too beautiful for the Bucks who go home in tears due to the overwhelming beauty in the symphony of the Nets' offense.
the Bucks allow the most open threes in the league, and teams shot 38% from 3 against them this year which ranked 2nd to last Miami bricklayers couldn’t take advantage, but BK has the personnel to...BK shot 17-39 from 3 on average against Milwaukee in the regular season which is 45% they might not shoot that well in this series, but Milwaukee will allow open looks from deep, it’s what their defense has been designed to do in order to protect the paint since Bud took over
the Nets missed James Harden a lot in the 2 games down in Milwaukee without him and his playmaking, the Nets still went 17-42 and 20-43 from deep because the Bucks will give up a ton of wide open threes the Nets had the likes of Mike James and Shamet trying to manufacture offense with bench units to begin the 2nd and 4th quarters, now it will be Harden Harden also improves the Nets defense and rebounding, and will make it harder for guys like Lopez, Bryn Forbes, and Connaughton to be on the floor since he is the master of hunting mismatches and manipulating the court to force switches. How many times did Tristan Thompson end up on Harden in that Boston series? KD and Kyrie don’t really do any of that, they just take whoever is in front of them 1 on 1 no matter who it is. Giannis averaged 40, 11, and 5 against the Nets in the regular season, but they did manage to force him into a taking a lot of jumpers, he was just hitting them…he took 9 threes a game during the regular season against BK, but he hit 38% of them which just looks very flukey…even from the free throw line he shot 73% against them when he’s a 69% free throw shooter this year and just shot 63% from the line in the 1st round against the Bucks However, despite him averaging 40 ppg against BK, his FG% was 49% which for him is low…he only shot a lower percentage against 5 other teams in the regular season, and that 49% was with him shooting out of his mind from deep…BK held him to 58% TS which again is also low for him BK will continue to sag way off Giannis and see if he can hit threes/midrange jumpers and if Milwaukee can match their offense
You're right, but my point still stands that 45% is insanely high and we shouldn't expect them to just start shooting that, if the Nets have to hit 45% to win this series that ain't happening. They were the 2nd best 3pt shooting team at 39%, first best Clips at 41%. My point for this series is exactly the bolded. If the Bucks can take something away from their offense consistently (Drives and slashes to the basket) and force them to beat them with hot shooting I like their chances. But 45% is unrealistic, not sure any team has ever averaged that during the playoffs or regular season. Again though, I did pick the Nets. As good as Jrue and Giannis and Tucker and all those guys are at defending...better offense always has the slight edge. I don't think they'll consistently stop Durant, Harden, Kyrie from getting to the rim...but if any team can, it's them. I do feel like for the Nets this is the Finals... Not for the Bucks...because I think the Bucks could lose to a healthy 6ers team and a healthy Utah/Phx squad, just that the Bucks I think pose the hardest match-up for the Nets.
I don’t think anyone thinks the Nets will need to hit 45% from 3 to beat the Bucks...it’s just likely that the Bucks won’t be able to stop them from shooting well from the field just based off their star power and the way their defense is designed...45% is highly unlikely and I agree that that’s not something that’s gonna happen, but something like 38% on good volume from deep is certainly doable Nets aren’t really a drive heavy team to begin with...they were 23rd in drives per game during the regular season and 21st in percentage of shot attempts at the rim...they beat teams with star power and elite shooting from midrange and from 3 I do think Harden will have a harder time getting to the rim and finishing since the Bucks have length and defenders the Celtics simply don’t have, and I’m not sure how long he’ll continue his excellent shooting from 3, so I expect his shooting splits to come back down to earth in this series, but I expect that KD will get his 30+ on 50% shooting and Kyrie to be inconsistent, but overall pretty good
Jrue is a good defender, and will make Kyrie work to get his. Will Connaughton "start out" on James, or put him on Harris, with Middleton defending Harden to start the games? And then there is PJ. PJ will have major minutes on both Harden and Durant in the series without having to bang down in the post like he did as a Rocket, so he won't be physically worn out as often. Will Bud put Giannis on KD? How comfortable is Giannis defending on the perimeter compared to Jrue or Middleton? Bucks definitely have the personnel to protect the paint, no debate there. For the Bucks, their size will give the Nets fits all series long. They will have easy chances for points in the paint. Harden will spend lots of time down on the block with Giannis and Lopez. Bucks will target Kyrie on defense heavily, and should have a clear rebounding advantage. Like the Nets, Milwaukee will get their fair share of threes as well. I also wonder which lineups will close these games? Bucks will have Jrue, Middleton, Giannis, and PJ for certain...but will they stay with Lopez (for defense), or go to someone like Forbes (for offense)? Brooklyn will have James, Kyrie, KD, and Harris, but who finishes with them for the Nets when these games get tight? As @Reeko pointed out, the Bucks allow so many wide-open three-point shots ever since Bud took over as a result of his emphasis on packing/collapsing the paint. The main recipient of these threes will be Joe Harris. My pick is Nets in 6; I believe they will figure it out without the possibility of a Game 7 being needed.
I know that is what they last year and before. But I thought they spent a good portion of the regular season working on a switching defenses, zones, and other variations to be more versatile in the playoffs.
The Bucks core has chemistry winning games in the regular season. I'd say they don't have any chemistry of cohesion when times get tough in the Playoffs. As recent history shows. I wouldn't give them an advantage in this regard, and if they're not blowing out the Nets in the fourth quarter, I don't like their odds.
This. People thinking that the Bucks still play defense like they did in the previous two seasons, havent watched the bucks or listen/read zach lowe's breakdown of their defense. Prior to this season, Lopez played drop coverage on close to every play involving a high screen involving his man. This season they've incorporated a variety of switches, hedges, show and blitzes to the scheme. whether any of those schemes will be effective against the Nets remains to be seen. IMO the Bucks need to limit Lopez's minutes vs Harden OR have Harden's defender NOT switch under any circumstances when Lopez is involved in the play. Isolating Lopez on Harden one on one is a recipe for disaster as Harden is one of the best in those situations. Lastly everyone can pretty much throw regular season numbers out the window when this series start. The Nets haven't had Durant, Harden and Irving together in but a handful of games. One or more stars were missing in all the head to head matchups and the Bucks have been experimenting with defensive schemes and lineups all season. The Bucks should expect KD Kyrie and Harden to score, what they don't want is Harden exploiting mismatches on the perimeter which would lead to wide open threes for Harris and dunks for Griffin, Claxton and Brown. Likewise the Nets will expect Giannis, middleton and the rest of the Bucks to score/rebound. They just cant give them a significant amount of offensive rebounds and uncontested layups and dunks. If the Bucks are living in the paint due to dribble penetration and rebounds... the Nets will likely lose. Lastly, Giannis isn't going to be posting up (back to the basket) to get into the paint. His game is catching the ball at the 3point line or circle or elbow and driving (bulldozing) his way to the rim. He relies on his quick first step, one dribble then a spin or a leap using his crazy length and athleticism to get to the rim. The best person to guard him on the NETS is KD and jeff green if healthy.
waiting for the punchline here... . . . But seriously, nothing against the Jazz, I just don't see it...
Nets in 6. G1: Nets 0-1 G2: Nets 1-1 G3: Nets 2-1 G4: Nets 2-2 G5: Nets 3-2 G6: Nets 4-2 You guys have no idea what a rested Harden means. This year would be the year Harden cements his legacy. BOOK IT!
Refs will have an awful lot of say in this series. Giannis' "offense" is to lower his head, bull-rush, flatten anyone in his path then cry for (and get) a foul call.
I think the point was that if the Nets score at 45% from 3, then the Bucks would need to score 70% from inside the paint. So if the Nets score at 40% from 3, the Bucks would need to score at 62% from the paint, etc.
