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

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Getting chased around just to cross half-court takes time off the shot clock and gets exhausting and that piles up if it happens every night. Holiday made it look easy to do, but it's not and he must have been exhausted. From the time Holiday started doing that, the average time the Suns took to cross half-court would have ranked dead-last in the NBA during the regular season. It threw off the rhythm of their offense, which looked almost effortless with ball movement the first 2 games of the series.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Yes, picking up defense full court against Paul when he had the ball was a huge adjustment that shifted how well he (an ultimately the Suns in general) performed offensively. Credit has to go to both Jrue and coach Bud for implementing that gameplan. Not being able to go exactly where they wanted to when setting up pick and roll and other sets got them out of rhythm, and with the exception of Booker (call whiner but an exceptional contested shot maker), the rest of the Suns just weren't able to find ways to get good looks consistently without having to win 1 on 1 battles off the dribble.

 

Some of that added effort probably led to Jrue getting even more inconsistent with his own shotmaking, but his defense was critical in turning the tide in this series. Making an aging Paul work had a clear effect on his game, and probably helped wear Booker down since his efficiency cratered in game 6 after having to carry them offensively during the middle games of the series.

[owbc]

Yes, picking up defense full court against Paul when he had the ball was a huge adjustment that shifted how well he (an ultimately the Suns in general) performed offensively. Credit has to go to both Jrue and coach Bud for implementing that gameplan. Not being able to go exactly where they wanted to when setting up pick and roll and other sets got them out of rhythm, and with the exception of Booker (call whiner but an exceptional contested shot maker), the rest of the Suns just weren't able to find ways to get good looks consistently without having to win 1 on 1 battles off the dribble.

 

Some of that added effort probably led to Jrue getting even more inconsistent with his own shotmaking, but his defense was critical in turning the tide in this series. Making an aging Paul work had a clear effect on his game, and probably helped wear Booker down since his efficiency cratered in game 6 after having to carry them offensively during the middle games of the series.

 

I thought the Suns also made a nice adjustment in game 6 to try and cut off Giannis' passing lanes when he was trying to dish it out to the perimeter. It lead to a number of turnovers in the first half. But the problem was that the help defenders can't guard Giannis and the perimeter shooters at the same time, so the Suns' were left with the 'hack-a-Giannis' approach when he just took it himself to the rim. It might have worked if Giannis had a 50% FT shooting night, but the Suns were in danger of having all their big men foul out by the 4th quarter. Seeing how Giannis responded to that adjustment is one of the reasons why he probably isn't done winning rings...

[Fear The Chorizo]

Yes, picking up defense full court against Paul when he had the ball was a huge adjustment that shifted how well he (an ultimately the Suns in general) performed offensively. Credit has to go to both Jrue and coach Bud for implementing that gameplan. Not being able to go exactly where they wanted to when setting up pick and roll and other sets got them out of rhythm, and with the exception of Booker (call whiner but an exceptional contested shot maker), the rest of the Suns just weren't able to find ways to get good looks consistently without having to win 1 on 1 battles off the dribble.

 

Some of that added effort probably led to Jrue getting even more inconsistent with his own shotmaking, but his defense was critical in turning the tide in this series. Making an aging Paul work had a clear effect on his game, and probably helped wear Booker down since his efficiency cratered in game 6 after having to carry them offensively during the middle games of the series.

 

I thought the Suns also made a nice adjustment in game 6 to try and cut off Giannis' passing lanes when he was trying to dish it out to the perimeter. It lead to a number of turnovers in the first half. But the problem was that the help defenders can't guard Giannis and the perimeter shooters at the same time, so the Suns' were left with the 'hack-a-Giannis' approach when he just took it himself to the rim. It might have worked if Giannis had a 50% FT shooting night, but the Suns were in danger of having all their big men foul out by the 4th quarter. Seeing how Giannis responded to that adjustment is one of the reasons why he probably isn't done winning rings...

 

Yep - and the fact Giannis made his free throws sealed their fate, because he and the Bucks had no problem with him scoring from the foul line and going back to the well repeatedly.

[tigerbrew]

The more I think about it, besides the Bucks retaining Portis, I also hope they sign Tucker for one more season to repeat.

 

Sounds like the Bucks billionaire co-owner will be focusing on the repeat in yesterday's interview.

 

[SeaBass]

I would explore moving Lopez but I'm not sure there's really even much of a market for him and would the return make an impact equal to what Lopez already provides? The Bucks have a trade exception that's worth a little over $4 million and Lopez's salary is in the $13 million range so that's $17 - $18 million. I just think for the amount of time the Bucks played without Lopez on the floor his slot and salary might be better used elsewhere. They're just so limited by the cap as to what they can do.

 

I'm interested to see what moves Horst makes because I don't think they can just run it back and expect the same results. The big 3 are locks after that who knows?

[sveumrules]

Giannis, Khris, Jrue, Brook, DDV & Pat C are all under contract at the top of the roster.

 

Bryant, Nwora, Merrill, Diakite & whoever they pick at #31 will be young cheap guys at the bottom of the roster.

 

That leaves four spots in the middle. Guessing Thanasis gets resigned for one of those. Probably only enough cash to keep one of PJ/Portis, hopefully Bobby loves Milwaukee enough to leave some money on the table. Have to imagine Forbes declines his PO, but if he doesn't that's one less spot.

 

I think it'll be a pretty quiet offseason. Biggest move will probably be finding a new backup PG.

[tigerbrew]

I would explore moving Lopez but I'm not sure there's really even much of a market for him and would the return make an impact equal to what Lopez already provides? The Bucks have a trade exception that's worth a little over $4 million and Lopez's salary is in the $13 million range so that's $17 - $18 million. I just think for the amount of time the Bucks played without Lopez on the floor his slot and salary might be better used elsewhere. They're just so limited by the cap as to what they can do.

 

I'm interested to see what moves Horst makes because I don't think they can just run it back and expect the same results. The big 3 are locks after that who knows?

 

For me, I'm thinking about replacing Lopez with Portis as the starting center for next season.

 

I'd sign Portis to a new contract. The Kings have some interest in DDV last offseason and their two centers Holmes and Whiteside are now both FAs, and Buddy Hield could be available for trade. Maybe a Buddy Hield for DDV and Lopez trade could be work out.

 

Bucks starting lineup for next season

PG: Jrue

SG: Buddy

SF: Khris

PF: Giannis

C: Bobby

[DuWayne Steurer]

Buddy Hield doesn't grade out defensively very well at all. I obviously haven't seen a lot of Kings games, so I don't know how much his D value is reliant on his teammates, but he grades out pretty poorly. One of the things DDV does well is play solid D. I'm just not sure what you're trying to move DDV for. He's young, still (relatively) cheap, and plays pretty good D, and rebounds really well for a guard. We don't need a ton of buckets from him, so he's doing everything the Bucks need, and then some.

[sveumrules]

Hield is 23 million next year, Brook + DDV are only 18 million.

 

Don't think we could take on that extra salary with our cap situation.

[tigerbrew]

Hield is 23 million next year, Brook + DDV are only 18 million.

 

Don't think we could take on that extra salary with our cap situation.

 

Hield's salary next season is $22.5M.

 

Bucks have a $4.8M Trade Exception for sending D.J. Augustin to Houston, $18M + $4.8M = $22.8M. If Forbes opt-in for next season, he can be package into the trade too.

[ecjimg]

What a fun ride. I live in the Phoenix area…… haven’t had an interest in the Bucks since the 80s. Jumped on the bandwagon because “my 14 year old self” would want to root for the Bucks after being disappointed by the Celtics winning game 7 in 1974. Everyone here was polite as I cheered for the opponent and Suns fans congratulated me when “we” won.

[reillymcshane]

As a note, the max money the Bucks can offer Bobby Portis next year is $5.9M - the taxpayer mid-level exception. We only have Non-Bird rights on him (and Forbes), which doesn't let us re-up them over available cap space (which for us is the taxpayer mid-level exception).

 

https://hoopshype.com/lists/bucks-offseason-preview-kyle-lowry-rumors-richaun-holmes-free-agency/

 

Portis could take the lower amount, and hope to cash in next off season - when we would have Early Bird Rights - and sign him for much higher. But if someone comes to him with a 3-year/$30M+ type offer - I can't blame him for taking it.

[rickh150]

Curious if the NBA is going to ( or has already) changed the rule about teams buying out the ends of contracts to allow players to latch on to contenders after the trade deadline….. seems like it has happened more recently.

[nate82]

Curious if the NBA is going to ( or has already) changed the rule about teams buying out the ends of contracts to allow players to latch on to contenders after the trade deadline….. seems like it has happened more recently.

 

There weren't all that many or as many as there have been in the past. This year was actually about average in 2019 there were far more transactions like this. Majority of the time these contracts have no bearing or impact on the NBA playoffs as these are end of the bench type of guys and that isn't really impacting the game at all competition wise.

[rickh150]

My favorite stat is 34 shooting 17-19 Fts and the entire Suns team going 16-19. Blame Chris Paul, Suns fans, for opening his yap after Game 5 about Giannis thinking he is going to miss every free throw he takes.

[Jimbo]

After the series, I thought a cool idea for a vanity plate would be something like "BUX N 6". Sure enough, Saturday afternoon I see a dude with a green Bucks plate "BUXIN6". How does one receive a vanity plate in four days?

[rickh150]

Curious if the NBA is going to ( or has already) changed the rule about teams buying out the ends of contracts to allow players to latch on to contenders after the trade deadline….. seems like it has happened more recently.

 

There weren't all that many or as many as there have been in the past. This year was actually about average in 2019 there were far more transactions like this. Majority of the time these contracts have no bearing or impact on the NBA playoffs as these are end of the bench type of guys and that isn't really impacting the game at all competition wise.

 

It’s kind of odd to allow these late comers on playoff teams, IMO. There are No trades after the deadline, but you can just sign guys that have contracts bought out? If nothing else, allow them to play the regular season only. In MLB 2008, I remember the Brewers getting Todd Coffey in September, and he was lights out…. but he couldn’t pitch in the postseason.

 

Drummond and Griffon went to big markets this year, each filling a valued role. The article talks about how it favors bigger markets too.

https://www.si.com/nba/2021/03/29/nba-buyouts-andre-drummond-blake-griffin

[homer]

After the series, I thought a cool idea for a vanity plate would be something like "BUX N 6". Sure enough, Saturday afternoon I see a dude with a green Bucks plate "BUXIN6". How does one receive a vanity plate in four days?

 

"Bucks in 6" has been around since like 2013 so it's very possible they've had that for a few years.

[Austin Tatious]

I still haven't come down from the high yet....have to pinch myself.

 

When they had Brandon jennings and Monta Ellis under contract, this franchise truly looked hopeless. Of all my favorite teams, the Bucks were easily the biggest upset to actually win a title. It defies any kind of rational belief I had back then.

 

Yet, here we are!

[rickh150]

I still haven't come down from the high yet....have to pinch myself.

 

When they had Brandon jennings and Monta Ellis under contract, this franchise truly looked hopeless. Of all my favorite teams, the Bucks were easily the biggest upset to actually win a title. It defies any kind of rational belief I had back then.

 

Yet, here we are!

 

The owners haven’t received enough credit, IMO. They ponied up a lot of $ for contracts, the new stadium, and properties around it. And they did this in a place not known for professional basketball. Lots of risk, yet here we are.

[nodakfan17]

^^^

I’ve been critical of Lasry and Edens in the past and am willing to eat some crow, but let’s not forget they inherited their two best players from Kohl and Hammond. I think they receive an appropriate amount of credit for the team’s success.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

They paid for half the arena. While in a perfect world owners would pay for the entire purchase price of their new toy, it was, in reality, a fantasy proposal compared to what happens in the rest of the country. In the end, much like Miller Park, the new stadium was a slam dunk success and only after it's built do most people admit it was the right thing to do.

[jjfanec]

I have always been confused by the negativity I had heard about the ownership but I am relatively new to the Milwaukee area.

[CheezWizHed]

Fizer Forum is a big win for the perception the world has of Milwaukee. People saw 65k people standing outside and seeing a beautifully architected building along with a well thought out downtown area. Can you imagine winning and them showing the Bradley Dungeon...er Center?

 

Downtown is so much more inviting than it was back then.