Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 1675. (Read 914528 times)

Giannis had such a beast game but it wasn't enough, others were just not playing that well. This is the chess game that you have to play, if you give your best player the ball all the time then he will play awesomely and get hot and have a good game and others will look like they are playing a bad game. However remember those games when Giannis couldn't play? Brook Lopez had one of the best games of his career that game, why? Because he got the greenlight, he shot more, he got hot early on.

When you do not give those players the ball at all times, it is going to be harder, so which one will coach Bud will prefer, give the ball to 3 different lesser talent (still awesome though) players so they can all get hot and not utilize Giannis to fullest? Or just give it to Giannis all the time and hope that it is enough for him to get the game all by himself?

Yes and this time no fans will count while Giannis is making a free throw or someone will also throw a punch at that person. 
It's Middleton that I was hoping to create those three-point shots.
Again, he is showing his inconsistency just when they needed it the most.
All we can do now is wait for him to unleash his beastly performance and maybe that's when we could see some light that a sweep won't happen.

That's not the main reason, IMO, the main reason is the 50% shooting of the Suns in 3 points, meaning their defense is not effective.

Giannis is not a good FT shooter, so we can't expect that he will shoot all the FTs, what's important is Giannis had a good Field goal percentage but his teammates have been struggling and that cannot happen in game 3.

The Bucks made only 9 out of 31 3-pointers, and I guess it was the main reason for their defeat in this game. Also, it worth noting that Giannis had problems with free throws(61%), and he could have scored seven more points. If he had made all free throws, it probably would have influenced the outcome of the match. Anyway, the upcoming game will be critical for the Bucks, and they must win it.

Bucks needs to find the right combo for both defense and offense,

They need to work things out with the stats Giannis have earlier it shows that he's already back and the injury is no longer bothering him, Bucks needs to take their next game at home if they still want to exend this series, with Suns capabilities to sweep them, it's needed for them to work together and win this 2 game at home.

They already lost 2 men in this Finals game. Last time was Dario Saric which is now said to be suffering a torn ACL and now Craig with a knee contusion.
I hope the Suns won't be losing their games because of this roster problem.
Kaminsky (center) and Nader (PF) are now their reserves if ever Ayton will need a breather and they need to be always ready to fortify the painted area when Giannis shakes them below the rim. They can go small but it will be a big problem if they can't answer for every possession.

Well, I also believe on that, but Bucks have to prove that by winning game 3, otherwise, we will lose our faith in this team on their chances in the NBA Finals. They work hard for this, they should not give this up easily, and they can do that by correcting their mistakes.

Well, they have done this before during the Nets series, they were dominated hard in the 1st and 2nd game, but they came back in game 3 with a huge win.

We have to reflect on that, Suns are really good as they know how to adjust to the game of the Bucks, unfortunately, the BUcks doest not have that kind of good adjustment in game 2, so the Suns still beat them and put them in 0-2 disadvantage. What's the purpose of Giannis scoring 42 points when they still lose by double-digit? it's not fulfilling because this game is won by teamwork.

The chance of the Bucks here is if the Suns will miss 3 point shots. Maybe they should put more defense, on the guards as they are really a great shooter.
Phoenix shoots 20-40 or 50% from 3 point line in game 2, that's unacceptable, Bucks should improve their defense as the Suns are easily getting good looks.

There's no need to clag down inside as the Bucks had an advantage to that due to Giannis and Lopez's height.

They limited Ayton with 10 points only but they allow the 3 point shooters an easy look.

The bucks don't know what hit them, three points are coming from everywhere when the bucks are closing in, paul make points and plays for the team, what a game by the suns, the bucks offense are good but the suns are flawless, they step on the gas when the bucks are making a rally, and doing it beautifully with nice plays, booker also played well tonight and supporting cast of the suns, no way that bucks can overcome that offense.

With or without Torrey Craig the suns are playing well, they played with good teamwork while the Bucks have some problem with that. Actually, if the Bucks will be able to adjust and find their advantage, they can win a game, so I also believe that even without Torrey Craig, the Bucks could still beat the Suns.

hard to say now as they are down 0-2, but hopefully they can even the series by winning the 2 games on their home court.

@LogitechMouse, at least we see now how effective Giannis is, Bucks are slowly figuring out how to win although they loss in game 2, more adjustment and they'll eventually get their first win, and I believe the best timing is in game 3.

Torrey Craig might not return in game 3 as he was injured when Giannis has in turbo going to the rim.
https://www.rotowire.com/basketball/player.php?id=4214

Call this another advantage for the Bucks.

I shared my 3 takeaways in Game 1 (even though there are some who disagree with the 3rd one that I said) and I will say again the 3 takeaways in Game into why the Suns won.

1. The Bucks have a huge front court but they can't stop how effective Ayton is inside the court.
2. 5 starters are in double figures.
3. Holiday and Middleton are missing in action.

1. The Bucks are known for their defensive strategies and with their roster, they can dominate the inside easily but if you will see the rebound category the difference is only 3. One thing more to look at is that, the Suns don't have any good center to switch to Ayton and if he will be in foul trouble then the Suns might get dominated inside. Ayton is very effective inside that he can still get a double double even though there are times that he is being sandwiched by Lopez and Giannis. With this, can we consider Ayton as a top 5 Centers right now with what he is doing?

2. This shows that they aren't selfish and they also lead the game in assist in 26 against 21 of the Bucks. There is also one possession where they managed to hold the ball, make 10 passes overall and ended up an and-one for Ayton. If the Bucks can't do anything to stop this, then worst case here is that they can get "Walis Walis" like what they did to the Heat in the first round.

3. I will just say that these 2 have a rough night that's all. 12/37 on the field combined, you can't feel them in offense and its only Giannis that are doing it. Its just sad to see that Middleton has really having a roller-coaster playoffs. One night he is a monster and another isn't. This might be harsh but he can't be a reliable 2nd option scorer with how he is playing right now.

It cost them a lot when they focused too much on Booker and CP3.
Jrue can make it happen but what about the other players? It seems like they forgot they also needed to defend the other Suns players.
Mikal Bridges with 27 points. This guy never goes beyond 20 points in the whole playoffs series.
The counter-attack of the Bucks became a trap for themselves. Counter being countered by the Suns coach.
He knew they will try to stop both offensive players of the team while they didn't know someone else will shine.
I can say Coach Monty is good at what he is doing.

I think it started with the Suns in four slogan against the Nuggets. And then the same with the Clippers although Clippers fought back. And since they are now up 2-0, possible that a sweep in the finals against the Bucks unless Giannis and company found the blueprint to stop Booker and Chris Paul to at least win one game at home. Maybe he is close to 100% but he is needs help. Khris Middelton and Jrue Holiday came up big against the Hawks but seems can't find the rhythm against the Suns.

Giannis tried everything but it seems that it's just part of Suns plan, allow Giannis to keep forcing his shots but make sure to
take care of the rest, even he provide this kind of numbers without the help from the entire squad, the chance still slim.

As you mentioned, key players needs to step up and provide the help that they can bring.

Coming this game 3 as they going to host the game, expect that huge adjustments will comes up and deliver by all the Bucks players.

I don’t think anyone really expected Phoenix to go ‘Suns in four’ against Giannis and company. That’s what it is looking like we may see though. Giannis is clearly not at 100%. It’s too bad that he had to suffer an injury right before his chance to become one of only three players to get an MVP, DPOY & FMVP. The other two… Hakeem and Michael Jordan. 

I thought that the Bucks will steal one game in Phoenix, unfortunately, it was not the case. Giannis play his hearts out, but he needed support, Middleton and Holiday is missing, they are the key pieces for Bucks to win here. Yes, they are moving to Milwaukee, so I expect that the Bucks are going to win very strong in game 3 and make a statement win. Just like what they did against the Hawks. So I will be betting for the Bucks as well in game 3 specially if they are going to be the underdogs.

It was a really interesting game last night. Because it ended with nearly the same score (118-108) as in the first game (118-105).    Honestly, I was expecting Bucks to win this time with the great help of Giannis.

Actually, Giannis played really awesome (42 PTS, 12 REB). But neither Holiday nor Middleton showed a decent performance. They couldn't score even at least 20 points each. At Suns, Booker was the most scorer this time (31 PTS). But I can't say that Paul and Ayton played bad. There was a really good point distribution among all these three.

Now the series is 2-0. Bucks must immediately do something about it. They're going to play 2 games home consecutively. I believe that they will succeed in winning both of them but it won't be easy though.

Suns played their part at home, two matches two wins, it is a good advantage, but far from over
Bucks have their home matches, that could bring them back, Giannis is back, and things are get to be more interesting if Bucks win their first home match, with Suns on 3:0 it will be a close-call for them to win the championship

nevertheless, my bet is with Bucks for game 3