Bucks vs Suns early breakdown

elijah bryant averaged 16 a game??holy crap,how did they find the minutes for him on this squad?damn that surprises me.

Here are some of my personal opinions on this series and matchups...

- Giannis might play, but if he does he will not be 100% and at that point, I think it is best if he sits. 

- CP3 and Booker look like they will have a tough matchup with Middleton/Holiday but they both looked great against the Clippers and all their perimeter defenders. Not to mention Holiday is the most inconsistent defender of those in the All-defensive teams. 

- Some have mentioned this, but Middleton has 0 room for error in this series. There will be no time for him to have a 6/22 game. The same goes for Holiday but Holiday has proved he can at least stay focused and come up big late in games. 

- Saw a few people say Ayton will struggle. Wrong. He may regress compared to the few prior series but the Bucks are not the best paint team, even if some numbers show they are. Many times the Bucks did not know what to do with Capela and Collins in the paint and the Bucks really struggled to rebound in the first few games of the series. 

- The Suns are exactly what the Bucks fear. The Bucks are a smart team. They play good ball and know how to get around defenses. But the Bucks have not faced a defense like Phoenix. With Bridges, Crowder, and a deep bench, the Suns have loads to throw at the Bucks stars and those "switches" that Middleton and Holiday got against Collins/Capela are virtually gone. 

- In the finals two games with Giannis out, the Bucks tried to feed the paint and get everyone involved. Really solid. But the one small issue is that the pace of the game will not be controlled by Milwaukee. CP3 knows exactly what to do and if the Bucks do try and slow it down I think that gives Phoenix a bigger edge. 

You guys likely see who my pick is. I thought Phoenix was the best team in the West since the all-star break. Even placed a nice little bet with a friend on who goes farther, Jazz or Suns. Anyway, I think Phoenix will be too much and actually come out as the smarter team who really found a way to go through Milwaukee's toughness.  

@Camouflage9

 I always like your writeups but I'm sorry to say that you are sadly mistaken if you think this Milwaukee team can beat the Phoenix Suns in a 7 game series. It's all about playing with consistency on offence, being able to play tough defence and being able to win on the Road. None of which the Mi!waukee Bucks have proven they can do. Milwaukee relies way too much on the 3 Ball and goes on too many shooting droughts. That will cost them. Their team defence is terrible compared to the Phoenix Suns and in the playoffs, defence will win you games. And the True Floor General.....Chris Paul always has his team playing with consistency on the offensive end. Giannis, Holiday and Middleton can't decide how they are going to play. Should I attack or should I shoot a 3 ball. All this stems from a serious lack of coaching from the Milwaukee Bucks staff. Put this all together and at the end of the day, the Phoenix Suns will be this year's NBA Champions !!!

@Camouflage9

 If Kyrie Irving didn't go down, no way were the  Bucks gonna be here so I think downplaying CP3 is a big mistake. Giannis if healthy would not have his way down the lane. Watch some Suns tape and they have slayed a lot of tough West coast teams with good interior defense.....Crowder and Bridges will take care of Middleton no problem. I don't think this series is gonna past 5-6 games with the Suns winning easy....East is soft

man,lots of love for the suns here...i fully respect what they have done.they are no joke for sure..but i cannot see this series being anything other than a long,drawn out dogfight so long as giannis is able to contribute in some meaningful manner..6 games minimum and im not sure on the winner but milwaukee offers good value...probably best to wait till after game 1 though for even bigger odds as i reckon suns very likely take it first up.

@melossinglet

 To the credit of you Buck fans that see something here, I just checked to see where Barkley was siding and he says Bucks win if Giannis has any meaningful play at some point or 85-90% healthy.

I don't see it. I see a soft Bucks team that gets deer in the headlights some games when they are not shooting and what happens when they play a team like the Suns who regularly only give up 3-5 steals a game?? Yes t he Bucks can rebound but they do not drive the lane well besides Giannis ....so what happens when the 5th best 3pt defensive team in the league (Suns) shut down your only mojo?

I think people need to look at matchup more and not overall stats and the fact that the East is not a defense /systems type conference like the West

#1 offense with their main cog wonkie combined with the #22 defense is not a good match vs a #7 offense and #7 defense in the league....Vegas I think is maybe giving the Bucks too much respect vs a healthy Suns team who is 33-11 at home this year in a much much tougher conference

@Camouflage9 $more house money$ Slap it too ya

 Sharing write ups....nothing better!

informative thread, all the way around.

@Force  game #1

 The Bucks are getting +5.5 (-110)

 SUNS -240 ML?  

Phoenix Suns to WIN 2021 NBA Championship FINALS -175  

@sports_Network

 I already put a nice wager on the Phoenix Suns to win the NBA Championship.....I am waiting on Game #1 Phoenix Suns -5.5

I am guessing the public will be all over the Milwaukee Bucks +5.5 (Suckers Bet)

The "Under" looks tempting !!!

After watching Milwaukee struggle to get by the Hawks I don't see how people are picking Milwaukee.

Phoenix has been a far more convincing team throughout the playoffs and was top seed in the regular season.  Best road team this season also which is usually a huge clue as to who is the best team. They were dogs to the Lakers and dispatched the champs easily. They beat the other LA team which even with the Kawhi injury had a very good team - they were one of the deepest overall teams.

Phoenix is better defensively, had more rest, and Giannis still hasn't came back to show he is 100% a big guys knee needs to be able to hold up. The Suns are also the better FT shooting team and have home advantage.

Even the last game no Trae, Huerter went 0 for everything and the Hawks still hung around the Bucks never could pull away.

If you don't think Booker and CP3 is a better backcourt you are insane. The Bucks remember are still missing Donte who is their usual starter.

Best POST of this thread..

im not a bucks fan and have zero affiliation to any team whatsoever....i would love to see chris paul win though as he is one of my all-time favourite players.

as for the series im still undecided..but i maintain that if giannis can go for at least 4 of the games that bucks look like very decent value...it just looks like an even matchup to me.suns very impressive but they are no juggernaut and each team can be exploited in some way.

I think the free throw shooting and defense will give the Suns just enough to edge out the Bucks. 

I got Suns in 7 but could also see them finish it in 6. 

@NutinButtLove

 Hit suns to win west at +4000 bought it the day they got cp3.

Bucks got by the Nets on a perfect storm of luck full stop.

Bucks struggle against good teams with good guard play in the halfcourt which fits the description of the Suns.

Especially with no Giannis, me thinks lots will forsee see value in the Bucks getting points after what happened vs the Hawks. Take Suns and the points for game 1 at least.

Way too much over analyzation.  Suns are 70-25.  55-33 ATS.  And are on a roll.

Suns dog walking these soft Bucks. 

CP3 (washed up) is destroying them!  MVP!

@Camouflage9

Unfortunately he has CP and D Book on his team, don’t really see that unless one of them were to get injured. 

@Camouflage9

 Smart way to do it Camouflage9. 

Everyone who knows me in all the other sports knows I look at matchup edges and believe in that vs who has what great player or is the hot team etc....

The whole point of a thread is to help or learn and yes, this thread has done so for all including myself. Well done

Like every series I saw that was tight...as this one should be  as a matchup with a healthy Bucks team, the series will ebb and flow with each team but ultimately, its gonna be the kids that pull the train here with their athleticism mix with the vets and who has that more?

That's who wins this series....and my bet has been made on the Suns due to their key vet holding the ball and is smart off of the court as well coaching young players just like Kyle Lowry did for the Raps 2 years ago!

This Suns team journey reminds me a lot like the Raps went through and so I see the destiny playing out