In what is likely the final Power Rankings article for the 2020-21 season, it comes at a bittersweet time considering the year could end this evening with the Bucks having the opportunity to close the Phoenix Suns out at home up 3-2 in the series.
It has been a transformational series for a group of players on both teams, both good and bad, but it’s been incredibly helpful to the building of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s legacy with the way the Bucks have been able to rip away a road victory in this series after defending home court for two straight games. And conversely, it hasn’t been all too helpful for the Suns and Chris Paul, who is in imminent danger of losing a title opportunity in his first NBA Finals appearance.
These Finals have been the entire package, and of course a lot more enjoyable with a home-court presence for both teams. However, it seems that the Bucks are intent on finishing off their opponents inside the Fiserv Forum and winning their first championship in over 50 years.
And from what we’ve seen this past week, they have a probable shot at it.
The ubiquitous “Bucks in 6” proclamation made by Milwaukee legend Brandon Jennings nearly a decade ago could come true in its most significant way tonight during Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals, and should the Bucks handle their business as they have at home all postseason (9-1 at home during the playoffs), this series could end tonight.
But don’t expect the Suns to fall over and concede the series even if they’ve lost three straight games to the Bucks. For two straight games at home, this series started out with the Bucks not just on the ropes, but nearly falling out of them as it seemed that Mike Budenholzer was being outcoached and outmatched by Monty Williams’ Phoenix Suns. But as the old saying goes, a playoff series never really starts until a home team loses a series game at home, and it seems to be that a series like this can teeter in many directions once that first domino falls.
As for how those dominoes have fallen, well, we will get into that in the final Power Rankings article of the season, and the last one you’ll read until October.
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1. Milwaukee Bucks
(46-26, Won 4-0 vs. Miami Heat in First Round, Won 4-3 vs. No. 2 Brooklyn Nets in ECSF, Won 4-2 vs. Atlanta Hawks in ECF, Up 3-2 vs. West’s No. 2 Phoenix Suns in NBA Finals, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)
If you could, just for a measly second – disregard Jrue Holiday’s two-way effort in erasing Chris Paul and 61 combined points through Games 3-5, Khris Middleton’s three-game revival and rise to prominence as the best halfcourt scorer in this series, and obviously Giannis’ historical production. Look at the bench points, and more specifically the output of the second unit guys in what was probably a decisive game 5 victory inside Talking Stick Resort Arena. Those tell the story.
Many were out on Milwaukee when they lost Donte DiVincenzo in the first round of the playoffs, bench points were predicted to be hard to come by with no true scorer at point or at the two guard spot off the bench. Pat Connaughton was looked at to fil that very role, but he has succeeded in spacing the floor and using his gravity as a spot-up shooter when the paint collapses on Giannis, Jrue, or Khris Middleton. In the past three games of this series, Connaughton hasn’t dipped below 52.6 percent shooting from deep, averaging 2.75 made threes per game off an average of 6.6 attempts per game.
More impressively, take a look at Bobby Portis’ value. He and Connaughton scored a combined 23 points in Game 5’s 123-119 road win, and when Brook Lopez or Giannis weren’t there to fulfill the defensive responsibilities during their minutes of rest, the Bucks earned a kick-out shooter and reliable defender who pressured the ball and showed a body off the switch. As Chris Paul couldn’t find a way to etch his mark in the game – until the fourth quarter, that is – Budenholzer’s efficacy instilled in his men allowed for the Bucks to maintain their matchups and fluctuate towards different zone looks periodically, so much so that it was on Devin Booker (who finished Game 5 with 40 points for the second-straight game) and his 33 attempts from the field to just keep the Suns in the game.
Their gameplan to keep CP3 relatively quiet and Devin Booker overwhelmed and hyperactive worked in the grand scheme of things to grant Milwaukee the lead in this series, but now it’s largely up to them to seal the deal tonight with the same plan in place. Chris Paul has not looked good, safe to say and was vehemently outplayed by Holiday in Game 5, barring his 21 points and 11 assist with one turnover compared to Holiday’s 27 points and 13 assists with two turnovers.
While that’s caused from Jrue Holiday keeping him to only 15 shots, that hiccup made from the Bucks’ defensive tenacity could be the determinant of this series’ conclusion. Plus, Jrue’s nail help and steal on Devin Booker that finished with a lob to Giannis in the game’s final play will live on in history should the Bucks win this series.
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2. Phoenix Suns
(51-21, Won 4-2 vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers in First Round, Won 4-0 vs. No. 3 Denver Nuggets in WCSF, Won 4-2 vs. No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers in WCF, Down 3-2 vs. East’s No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks in NBA Finals, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)
My my…how the turn tables.
Just a few days ago, the Phoenix Suns were riding high, licking their chops to the sounds of prognosticators fawning over their domination and otherworldly performance in what sounded like 2021’s signature feel-good story. Their defensive edge and execution, ball movement, and playmaking from first-ballot Hall of Famer Chris Paul and “Baby Kobe” Devin Booker was as pristine as a a trinket designed by Tiffany and Co., their delegation of shot attempts to role players ample. Deandre Ayton’s domination as a PnR big was too much for the Bucks to overcome as they looked nearly unbeatable at home.
And then, they got away from Talking Stick Resort Arena, into the confines and enemy lines of the Fiserv Forum. The Deer District’s roar rocked the Suns to their core, as they’ve dropped three straight games in this Finals series, their last one at home the most demoralizing of all.
Phoenix now finds themselves on the rocks as they play their first elimination game of the 2020-21 postseason tonight, and they’re still without concrete answers on how to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo as is. But now, the cavalry has arrived in Khris Middleton AND Jrue Holiday producing mightily in Milwaukee’s race to four wins?
Game 6 lives in ominous infamy in Suns history, since the last time they played in one during the NBA Finals back in the year 1993, it did not result in their favor, even if they “thought” they had the better team. It feels like yesterday (or not, a lot of people probably reading this weren’t even born during Phoenix’s Finals appearances) that the Suns battled the Chicago Bulls, failing to extend the series to seven games as Finals MVP Michael Jordan defeated season MVP Charles Barkley’s Suns in six games.
The ebb and flow of the game is determined by its players, and as Giannis is proving all of his doubters who think he isn’t contributing in a “hooper” kind of role as the team’s likeliest candidate to win Finals MVP, Phoenix is hoping history doesn’t repeat itself and allows the Bucks to celebrate their second-ever title on the Bucks’ home floor of the Fiserv Forum.
So to prevent that, the Suns cannot afford to trade bucket for bucket with the Bucks, especially in transition. There were too many times when the Suns offense got the look they wanted, only for the Milwaukee fast break to be ahead of them with mismatches aplenty at their disposal. They allowed the Bucks to score 21 points in the open court, slightly above their series average of 17.2 fastbreak points.
And when the Suns offense went stagnant, it led to a 16-point lead evaporating during a seismic 19-point Milwaukee swing before the end of the first half.
The offensive tactics for opportunities to score in the halfcourt are there, but the game is also about getting timely stops, something the Suns uncharacteristically went away from during this losing streak. They’ll need to defend at a high level to force a Game 7.
If they don’t, and fail to raise their play to the level that an elimination game requires, then the Milwaukee Bucks will be your 2020-21 NBA Champions by the end of the night.
Source: pngkey.com
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