@Tschmack posted:I don’t think you will see Kyrie the rest of the series. If you do, he won’t be nearly as explosive and that’s 75% his game. Yes he could likely still shoot and score, but it really tilts the scales in Jrue Holiday’s direction. If Holiday has a weakness, it’s defending smaller and quicker guys.
Irving is probably the hardest guy in the league to defend off the dribble. If his ankle isn’t right, that quickness and burst will be limited big time.
The Bucks and Giannis need to come out and punch them in the mouth and don’t give them any thought that they can win. Basically do what Brooklyn did to you in game 2. You don’t need to win by 40, but you don’t want the Nets to hang around either because that’s when the refs can influence things.
I agree on Holiday's troubles defending Kyrie (or a guy like Kemba Walker or Trae Young). Holiday's strength is that he can guard 1s through 4s effectively because of his core strength and savvy. The DDV loss was bigger for this series than any other opponent (other than a healthy Kemba Walker) because he was a natural matchup against Kyrie with Holiday more suited for Harden.
Eric Bledsoe probably did a better job on Kyrie than anyone, but that was Bledsoe's strength - matchups against smaller, quick guys like Irving, Trae Young, and Walker. DDV was a similar kind of defender.
If (and it's still a big if) the Bucks get by the Nets, the Sixers almost certainly await and the only matchup problem that scares you there is Embiid. Lopez is an ideal defender against him, but only he and Giannis can come close to holding up against Embiid. Holiday and Tucker should have a huge advantage over Tobias Harris and George Hill.