2021 NBA Finals: Milwaukee Bucks vs Phoenix Suns BUCKS WIN THE TITLE!!!!

[owbc]

The series feels over, it’s such a bummer to come home down 2-0 against a team as good as the Suns. I know we overcame 2-0 against the Nets but this feels different.

[adambr2]

Also, I kind of feel like "They'll Never Do That Again" (Middleton and Jrue shoot so poorly, Suns shoot 50% from 3, etc) has sort of become the rallying cry of this team.

 

Rode it all the way to the finals.

 

That wasn't really my point. Yes, this is a really good team and they deserve to be here. But it feels like we do a heck of a lot of mental gymnastics to try to rationalize every game we lose that everything is just going so wrong for us and so right for our opponent.

[bani1717]

Switch the Bucks' 3 point shooting %s between games 1 and 2 and we win this one

[OldSchoolSnapper]

The series feels over, it’s such a bummer to come home down 2-0 against a team as good as the Suns. I know we overcame 2-0 against the Nets but this feels different.

 

Game 2 with the Nets was such a laugher it was easy to dismiss. The Bucks weren't bad tonight IMO. I thought they played much better than Game 1, and the result was basically a copypasta. One dreadful quarter, down most of the game, cut the lead for 2 seconds and then collapse. They just appear to have bumped into the wrong team. There's a 6-8 point hump they just can't get past.

[adambr2]

I'm glad we got here, regardless of what happens from here. I'd rather have at least gotten here than have lost to Brooklyn in the semis, even if it means losing here. An Eastern Conference title is something. It's progress. It still sucks at the end of the season, but after so many Conference title losses for my teams I'll take at least one step better.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Also, I kind of feel like "They'll Never Do That Again" (Middleton and Jrue shoot so poorly, Suns shoot 50% from 3, etc) has sort of become the rallying cry of this team.

 

Rode it all the way to the finals.

 

That wasn't really my point. Yes, this is a really good team and they deserve to be here. But it feels like we do a heck of a lot of mental gymnastics to try to rationalize every game we lose that everything is just going so wrong for us and so right for our opponent.

 

Ehh.... You're not wrong. By the same token there's a lot of mental gymnastics to rationalize how and why we have no chance to win this series. Maybe it's to soften the blow when we inevitably lose. PHX isn't vastly superior to the Bucks. They're PLAYING better, but they're not this mega better team as many or some are making them out to be. We've played like butt for two games. It's going to be tough to come back. If PHX continues to shoot 50% (which I don't expect them to XD ) then we're probably doomed. We might be anyways. Who knows?

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Ehh.... You're not wrong. By the same token there's a lot of mental gymnastics to rationalize how and why we have no chance to win this series. Maybe it's to soften the blow when we inevitably lose. PHX isn't vastly superior to the Bucks. They're PLAYING better, but they're not this mega better team as many or some are making them out to be. We've played like butt for two games. It's going to be tough to come back. If PHX continues to shoot 50% (which I don't expect them to XD ) then we're probably doomed. We might be anyways. Who knows?

 

IDK, I think the Bucks are a top team, clearly, and could have had better results with the Clips, Utah, whoever...but I think this matchup is a real problem for them. Too many shooters that don't miss decent looks, a strong big man, and Paul who can do pretty much everything. In this specific matchup I think they are quite a bit better than the Bucks, but they're not a mega team. It's always about the matchup. They were probably lucky to get the Bucks in that sense.

[KeithStone53151]

Middleton certainly disappeared. Game 3 will be pivotal if we're gonna have a chance. If we don't win by a dozen or more game 3 the series is pretty much over. Even a 3-4 point win would feel like we squeaked by and didn't deserve

 

Who cares how much we win by? IT's the finals. Win 4 games by 7 points total. WOrld champs.

 

Sure, a win is a win. But will you feel like we truly won if after 2 double digit defeats we win game 3 at home by 1? Will that instill a lot of confidence going into the rest of the series? Or would a 15 point win instill more confidence in us AND the players?

[DuWayne Steurer]

FWIW, Utah had double digit wins against us in both regular season matchups. I didn't like that matchup at all.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Middleton certainly disappeared. Game 3 will be pivotal if we're gonna have a chance. If we don't win by a dozen or more game 3 the series is pretty much over. Even a 3-4 point win would feel like we squeaked by and didn't deserve

 

Who cares how much we win by? IT's the finals. Win 4 games by 7 points total. WOrld champs.

 

Sure, a win is a win. But will you feel like we truly won if after 2 double digit defeats we win game 3 at home by 1? Will that instill a lot of confidence going into the rest of the series? Or would a 15 point win instill more confidence in us AND the players?

 

After getting curb stomped by the Nets in game one and 2, the Bucks needed a last second layup to beat the Nets in game 3 to avoid going down 3-0. Again, this isn't the Nets. But just get the W. Doesn't matter how.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

FWIW they barely beat the Nets in Game 3. I thought, cute, we won a game. I definitely thought that series was over though. And I think this one probably is too. Don't see us pulling that off twice in one playoffs...and we got an assist from the injury gods. I agree that I'm definitely glad we got here, and I'll go further to say if we are going to lose here I'd rather get crushed and see it unfold slowly in 4 or 5 games than go down in game 7 at the end.

[homer]

you can't win in six if you don't lose two

[owbc]

you can't win in six if you don't lose two

 

Now THAT’S the spirit!

[brooks_quichenick]

you can't win in six if you don't lose two

 

[SomewhereInTime]

FWIW they barely beat the Nets in Game 3. I thought, cute, we won a game. I definitely thought that series was over though. And I think this one probably is too. Don't see us pulling that off twice in one playoffs...and we got an assist from the injury gods. I agree that I'm definitely glad we got here, and I'll go further to say if we are going to lose here I'd rather get crushed and see it unfold slowly in 4 or 5 games than go down in game 7 at the end.

 

A lot of Bucks fans thought the same thing on the opposite end in 2019 when the Raptors won the crazy OT game. Other than in the first round when a heavy favorite takes the first two games, I don't think much is really decided until a road team wins. It would not surprise me to see the Bucks storm back and take Game 3 and Game 4.

[homer]

Really miss Dante this series.

[nate82]

Really miss Dante this series.

Yeah he would be the better option scoring wise over Connaughton, Forbes or Teague.

 

Donte would have been nice to have in the Finals especially with Middleton and Jrue shooting horribly.

[homer]

Really miss Dante this series.

Yeah he would be the better option scoring wise over Connaughton, Forbes or Teague.

 

Donte would have been nice to have in the Finals especially with Middleton and Jrue shooting horribly.

 

I think he's more important on defense against Booker and/or Paul

[DuWayne Steurer]

I think DVC being out has really been overlooked the entire playoffs. I know he's kind of not really a big scoring threat and he's not one of our big three, but he is a starter and he does a lot of things and he does them pretty well

[patrickgpe]

The suns made 11 more 3's and won by 10. They shot 50% from 3, bucks 29%. Bucks were able to do pretty much what the wanted in the paint, but the suns defend the paint much better than the hawks or any team they saw in the East. I think they need to give Portis more minutes and continue to try to work inside rather than continue to pop and miss 3's. Its very frustrating to watch them settle for a quick 3 and miss it time and time again. Losing DDV is overlocked and not discussed at all. Forbes and Connaughton haven't been able to make anything behind the arc.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Bucks may as well camp out at the 3-point line defensively at this point, because looking at the box score they should have won last night, until you get to 3P%. The "let the other team shoot 3s" dead horse is beyond decaying, but against this specific team I think it has merit. It's one thing to get beat by catch-and-shooters, but you can't let Chris Paul and Devin Booker square up a three for 2-3 seconds...and Booker was 1/8 in G1.

[Baldkin]

Really miss Dante this series.

Yeah he would be the better option scoring wise over Connaughton, Forbes or Teague.

 

Donte would have been nice to have in the Finals especially with Middleton and Jrue shooting horribly.

 

I think he's more important on defense against Booker and/or Paul

 

He's a really good rebounder as well, especially when the Bucks go small.

[DuWayne Steurer]

It's kind of disheartening when you have multiple reporters and news media types calling your team the dumbest team in the NBA.

 

Now they're being called the dumbest team in NBA finals history.

 

When you pull a clip from coach bud telling the team in the locker room pregame to play random and have fun, it does nothing but feed the notion that they really don't have a plan.

 

I don't change my stance that I don't think the sun's are really that much more talented than the bucks. But It's no secret that almost everyone on the planet thinks bud is a terrible playoffs coach, including myself.

 

I still have every belief that they will hold serve at home and maybe even take this to seven games, but there's that nagging bit of me that almost hopes we get popped in the next two games and the ownership sees the perceived view of this team, and where it stems from and makes a change despite making it to the finals. Toronto did it after having a 59 win season and climbed the mountain the very next year

[KeithStone53151]

I was given a statistical analysis through a friend that is working the finals and received it from a stat person for one of the teams. It's very brief but it showed based on shots taken, the Bucks win this game 88% of the time. The Suns were statistically expected to score 14 less points on 3s, and the Bucks were statistically expected to score 5 more points on finishes at the rim. Those were the big two outliers that swung the game.

 

For those who haven't thrown in the towel on the series(~75% of posters in this thread) and are looking for a bit of optimism heading into game 3...there it is.

[CheezWizHed]

I was given a statistical analysis through a friend that is working the finals and received it from a stat person for one of the teams. It's very brief but it showed based on shots taken, the Bucks win this game 88% of the time. The Suns were statistically expected to score 14 less points on 3s, and the Bucks were statistically expected to score 5 more points on finishes at the rim. Those were the big two outliers that swung the game.

 

For those who haven't thrown in the towel on the series(~75% of posters in this thread) and are looking for a bit of optimism heading into game 3...there it is.

 

Math Nerds > Jocks!