Game on, fellas… 1 more!!!
Great win without Giannis. At worst now, there will be a game 7 at Fiserv on Monday.
Just a quality win all around. I really liked that they pounded the ball inside a lot although it seems like in the second half they settled a little too much for quick shots.
Lopez killed ATL in the paint and Holiday was fantastic distributing the ball and setting guys up. Portis had a nice all around game.
The funny thing is the score was close at times but I never felt like the Bucks weren’t in control. Atlanta shot pretty well from 3 (Bucks not so much) and they won easily. I have to think Milwaukee is due for 15+ 3s in a game and maybe it’s game 6.
I’m incredibly proud of the guys that took the floor tonight. They rose to the occasion just when the franchise, the city and our fan base needed it most. Every guy in a Bucks uni tonight told Giannis, “we’ve got your back.” That’s the way you keep a superstar happy.
I’m all for closing it out in game 6, but you all know the NBA is going to make it nearly impossible with the fouls. They’re hoping for a Willis Reed moment in game 7. Just imagine the ratings if Giannis finds a way to play a few minutes, and the Bucks win the EC for the first time since 1973-‘74.
Leroy Butler is in Bud's corner
Get’em @Bucks Great coaching job by BUD!! Sorry fire BUD guys have to wait to complain about him,but they won’t so 🥱 go ahead and complain #3-2 #bucks
— leroy butler (@leap36) July 2, 2021
Anotha Eastern Conference Finals #VictoryWalk ✌️ pic.twitter.com/LCIX4R8fxO
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 2, 2021
@Boris posted:Leroy Butler is in Bud's corner
Get’em @Bucks Great coaching job by BUD!! Sorry fire BUD guys have to wait to complain about him,but they won’t so 🥱 go ahead and complain #3-2 #bucks
— leroy butler (@leap36) July 2, 2021
Leroy must read this forum.
No need for Bobby to bring his wallet on a night out in Milwaukee…..ever
The Bucks played one of their best offensive games of the playoffs without Giannis. They attacked the rim, owned the second chance opportunities, and got looks for perimeter players all game long. I hope they were all taking notes- because having Giannis and Lopez on the floor together should no longer be the plan. Lopez simply isn’t effective as a perimeter player with Giannis.
So either he’s a 6th man, or this should be his last year in Milwaukee. Like Simmons and Embiid, it doesn’t seem like they’re compatible on the floor together.
The Bucks need to next level this offense and stop playing with one arm tied behind their back. Giannis is a 5. Play him there and don’t look back. Trade Lopez and get a backcourt scoring upgrade. There will be a bunch available.
Only caught the 2nd half so I missed the hot start. And for some reason the "catch up with key plays" option on Youtube TV was all messed up last night. Like it was off by 5 or 6 seconds. All the key plays seemed to be guys dribbling around or missing shots after what sounded like the crowd just getting over going crazy about something that already happened.
2nd half was a thing of beauty though. I don't think they allowed Atlanta to get closer than 7 and kept stretching the lead until it was pretty much over with a few minutes left.
So you gotta sit Giannis game 6 and see if these guys can close it out with the same plan, Young or no Young. If it comes back to Milwaukee do you Willis Reed it if Giannis is up to the task? The interview with TNT and Holiday was interesting. He seems to be aware that he hasn't been aggressive enough and even his friends and family have been on him about that.
It finally took to game 5 for the Bucks to be the team they are. An inside out team.
Capela and Collins cannot handle Lopez inside. They are both giving up 3 inches and probably 40-50 pounds on him. That’s a complete mismatch. You single him and he will eat you up. You double him and he can pass and someone will be open on the perimeter.
The other thing that seems obvious to me and Music City pointed it out is Giannis and Lopez are not effective on the floor together offensively. Giannis is better at the 5 anyway and if it means bringing Lopez off the bench so be it as Portis has proven he’s exactly the guy they need at the 4. He’s tough to guard, he can beat you inside or outside, and he’s a menace on the boards. He’s basically the offensive version of Tucker. The other issue is Portis is a much better 3 point shooter than either Lopez or Giannis so get him out there with Middleton and Holiday and Tucker.
We’ve all been wondering why Holiday hasn’t played elite consistently and I think the presence of Giannis makes it really difficult to play a traditional point guard role. You saw last night that he took control and ran the show. That’s the Holiday we thought we were getting not the guy we saw in games 3 and 4.
The final point is without Giannis they shot 18-25 from the charity stripe. Those are freebies that the Bucks usually won’t get if Giannis is in there. So yes, they miss his 25/12 but honestly it’s more like 18/12 or 20/12 because you know he will give points away at the line.
The final score was Bucks by 11 but it felt more like the Bucks blew them out and that was with the Hawks shooting 40% from 3 and Milwaukee only hitting 9 long range shots. That’s what is encouraging about the next game or game 7. They are due to have a good night shooting 3s and while I don’t think Lopez will give them 33/7 and 4 blocks I think 20/10 is completely realistic. Middleton hits a couple more 3s and Pat C and Forbes and Portis do better than 3-10 from 3 and they can win another game and advance.
I think they resist the urge to play Giannis the rest of this series. They’ve finally uncovered the strategy to beat the Hawks and my concern (other than he’s not close to 100%) is they will try too hard to feature Giannis and it will disrupt their mojo and momentum. The Bucks have the Hawks right where they want them without Giannis. The one problem I saw was dribble penetration by Lou Williams and Trae Young did the same thing but it is what it is. Having DDV would help that big time but they won’t fix it now. Just don’t let the guy go for 35 points and I think they will be OK.
If it goes to Game 7, then you may consider bringing him off the bench. But I would be damn sure he’s OK as the last thing we want is for him to pull a KD and suffer a major injury while not being 100%.
@Tschmack posted:I think they resist the urge to play Giannis the rest of this series. They’ve finally uncovered the strategy to beat the Hawks and my concern (other than he’s not close to 100%) is they will try too hard to feature Giannis and it will disrupt their mojo and momentum. The Bucks have the Hawks right where they want them without Giannis. The one problem I saw was dribble penetration by Lou Williams and Trae Young did the same thing but it is what it is. Having DDV would help that big time but they won’t fix it now. Just don’t let the guy go for 35 points and I think they will be OK.
If it goes to Game 7, then you may consider bringing him off the bench. But I would be damn sure he’s OK as the last thing we want is for him to pull a KD and suffer a major injury while not being 100%.
Totally agree with this in that Giannis not 100% could mess with the chemistry they established in Game 5. Can someone explain to me why we can't play sets like this for Lopez more often? Lopez is not nearly the athlete that Giannis is but he sure is a much better half court offensive player. I am shocked by how dominant he was and how it looked like Holiday and Lopez have been playing together for years.
Depends on the docs….they say go, he goes. Giannis opinion means nothing, management opinion means nothing.
This type of situation clearly shows why losing game one was more than just losing a game. Suns getting a lot of rest, Bucks sweating out every game, xtra travel, it adds up.
Phoenix has had a lucky horseshoe up their ass all postseason.
I’m not sure getting over a week off is good for a team unless health is an issue and I’m not sure it is with the Suns.
I will say this though - the so called experts thinking Phoenix will steamroll either of these teams haven’t followed playoff basketball long enough. Both the Hawks and Bucks are battle tested whereas I’m not sure Phoenix has faced much adversity at all.
I also wonder about Chris Paul. No one has had more bad playoff mojo than that guy and that’s still a young team that doesn’t know any better.
Anyway, people have been doubting the Hawks and Bucks all playoffs so that chip on their shoulder may come in handy starting next week. I think Phoenix will be favored but I doubt it will be a cakewalk.
Let’s slow down with the “the Bucks unlocked the strategy to beat the Hawks” talk. We played without Giannis. Yes. The Hawks also played without their top guy, and I’m betting Trae finds a way to play through some discomfort in game six at home. His presence on the court, healthy, is a big wild card. Can we do to them-and him-what we did in stifling him in game 2, but without Giannis’ presence in the paint? That remains to be seen. I certainly hope so.
It’s going to be a seven game series. It sickens me to think that the NBA will make sure of it somehow, but we all know it’s going to happen.
@Pikes Peak posted:I don’t know that
You don’t think Atlanta will get every single call at home in order to ensure there’s an extra game? Think of the money and ratings the NBA gets. How they’ll hype it up.
Giannis isn’t playing in game 6. The hype of “will the 2x defending MVP come back from a knee injury to lead his team to the Finals for the first time in nearly half a century?” It will be big prime time ratings. It won’t matter that Milwaukee is a smaller market. That’s a dream scenario for the NBA.
If the Bucks play close to how they did in game 5 and shoot better than 30% from 3 there won’t be a game 7.
ATL played relatively well in game 5 and shot the 3 well. And got plenty of calls. And it didn’t matter.
@lambeausouth posted:You don’t think Atlanta will get every single call at home in order to ensure there’s an extra game? Think of the money and ratings the NBA gets. How they’ll hype it up.
Wouldn't they have made more money with a 7 game series in the West? Then why didn't they make sure that happens?
If I was Silver I would have LeBron still playing in a game 7 VS Steph and Philly in a game 7 VS the Knicks.
Gold Jerry, gold.
It would be epic if they held game 7 on a grassy knoll on the moon landing set.
Complaining about calls before a game even starts feels so Viking-like.
@lambeausouth posted:Let’s slow down with the “the Bucks unlocked the strategy to beat the Hawks” talk. We played without Giannis. Yes. The Hawks also played without their top guy, and I’m betting Trae finds a way to play through some discomfort in game six at home. His presence on the court, healthy, is a big wild card. Can we do to them-and him-what we did in stifling him in game 2, but without Giannis’ presence in the paint? That remains to be seen. I certainly hope so.
It’s going to be a seven game series. It sickens me to think that the NBA will make sure of it somehow, but we all know it’s going to happen.
I'm betting Young won't play again this series. If he does, I believe he will be ineffective or re-injure himself. A guy who relies on speed and change of direction won't be able to function in a playoff game. He sprained his ankle less than a week ago. For some reason fans think these stars can speed up recovery time in the playoffs.
@Blair Kiel posted:It would be epic if they held game 7 on a grassy knoll on the moon landing set.
Which, as everyone knows is in Area 51
Yeah, I don't see Young playing tomorrow. Maybe game 7 if that happens.
And the more I think about it, the more I think losing game 6 wouldn't be such a bad thing. Yeah, it would be nice to close it out and be done but if they can push back the start of the finals an extra few days that gives Giannis that much more time to get right, if it's possible he can get right.
@Pikes Peak posted:Which, as everyone knows is in Area 51
Attachments
As for Hawks getting all the foul calls, Atlanta has been called for 105 fouls in the series, Bucks 87. So tell me how is Atlanta getting all the calls?
Did you see Trae Young warming up? He was wincing right off the bat and that was like 1/4 speed with no one defending him.
If I had to guess he’s not playing and if he does honestly I question why because Lou Williams has been effective in his replacement role.
I get the whole NBA conspiracy shit. Yes a game 7 would bring more interest but I just have this feeling the Bucks may break out and light them up. For the season they’ve shot nearly 40% from 3 and with no Giannis bringing that average way down it’s only a matter of time especially when you are missing clean looks. Those shots will fall eventually and if they do it’ll be game 2 all over again.
You are right about Williams and with Young gone the others have stepped up more than I thought possible.
If there's one thing I've learned it's that the outcome of this game will be determined in the first 5 minutes from tipoff.
Multiple sources reporting Trae Young is playing tonight. Good. Go right after him. Let him play hero ball all night.
Smells of desperation but they have to win or it’s over
Take minutes away from a completely healthy Lou Williams hey have at it
I hope the Bucks blow them out
Welp, 5 minutes in it's 15-6.
Hello NBA finals!!!
If Forbes can’t hit 3s there’s not much reason for him to be out there.
Anyone notice the quick move Giannis made going after Pat when he flew out of bounds? Encouraging mobility.