NBA Finals Recap Notes

The NBA Finals have completed, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns in 6 games while Giannis Antetokounmpo was named Finals MVP.  I found it to be a fun series and took several notes for my recap of the series.

 

• Can we just marvel at the fact that Giannis Antetokounmpo came back from an injury where his knee went the wrong direction?  I thought he would miss the start of next season even, but he came back and dominated.  He averaged 35.2 PPG, 13.2 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.8 BPG, 1.2 SPG, and shot 61.8% from the floor.  Wow, that was fun to watch.
• If I hear another person saying that these two teams reached the Finals because they got lucky, I’ll probably snap.  The Bucks got there because they obliterated the Heat, squeaked past the Nets, and was able to handle the Hawks.  The Suns got there because they outplayed the Lakers, dominated the Nuggets, and beat the Clippers.  For the Nets not being at full health:  that’s what you should expect when acquiring injury Kyrie Irving and a James Harden who wasn’t in the best shape to start the season.  For the Hawks:  I truly think that the Bucks were the better team prior to Trae Young going down anyways.  For the Lakers:  LeBron James and Anthony Davis were injured for a decent part of the year, and you expected they would finish the Finals without any injuries and with everybody playing well?  I didn’t think they’d make it out of the West (I had them going to the Finals though).  As for the Nuggets, they were able to beat Portland despite not having Jamal Murray, so there’s that.  As for the Clippers, they thrived against the Jazz, but when suddenly everyone falls back to earth, Paul George wears down, and there is no Kawhi Leonard, they become an average team.
• For everyone saying Khris Middleton should have been MVP:  not only was Giannis the obvious choice, but I thought Jrue Holiday with his defense on Chris Paul and Devin Booker made him more worthy, despite Middleton’s 24.0 PPG and Holiday shooting just 31.4% from the field.
• I feel so bad for Devin Booker.  He started out so strong during the series but finished game 6 going just 6-22 from the field and 0-7 from the 3.  I think this was a combination of being worn out and the Jrue Holiday effect.
• I was surprised to see that Chris Paul ended up with stats that looked really good, with 21.8 PPG, 8.2 APG, 55.0% FG%, and 52.2% 3P%.  That said, he had 3.5 TOV, consistently had other bad plays that counted as turnovers for others, and was often targeted defensively against the bigger guys.
• I figured it would be a difficult series for Deandre Ayton since he would have to deal with Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez in the paint, but he looked drained by the end (for obvious reasons) and at times defeated against Antetokounmpo.  They tried him on Lopez instead, which I thought was smart considering Lopez only shot 23.8% from deep, allowing Ayton to play closer to the paint.  The catch was that a 6’6 Jae Crowder had to guard Antetokounmpo – it didn’t work.
• I was worried that the Bucks were not playing like the best version of themselves in several games in the second and third rounds, but this only happened in Game 1.  Once Game 2 hit, I thought the team was closer to their best selves for the remainder of the series.
• People said the Bucks were blown out in Game 2 after losing by 10.  I argue that was an incredibly close game.  The Bucks had 3 plays that were defensive mix-ups from switching that resulted in 7 points, which would have made this a 3-point game.  Mind you, Middleton and Holiday were awful, going 5-16 and 7-21 from the field respectively.
• I thought Milwaukee’s strategy of having Holiday covering Paul once he crossed half court was a great decision.  While Paul would normally be quick enough to get around a guard in that case, Holiday is bigger and stronger than Paul and played him in a much more physical manner, clearly wearing him down.  There was a similar impact when Holiday was on Booker because, while Booker is strong, Holiday is incredibly strong for a guard.
• I was a bit worried my prediction would be off once Dario Saric went down, and it showed.  After Ayton, the center depth was a little bit thin.  Crowder and Torey Craig were their best remaining “big” men, unless you’d really want to trust Frank Kaminsky…which the Suns didn’t (nor would I against Milwaukee).
• Could we just take a second to marvel at the fact that Craig took a charge from Antetokounmpo going full speed during Game 2 and still played 15 minutes in Game 3?  I saw that and felt like I died watching that play.
• The Bucks really needed Pat Connaughton to play as well as he did this series, especially without Donte DiVincenzo on the court and Jrue Holiday having his struggles from the field.  Overall, he had 9.2 PPG and 5.8 RPG while shooting 44.1% from 3.
• Several of the Suns players looked like they hadn’t been to the playoffs before during this series, which seemed to be the first time this playoffs this happened.  There were times that Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Cam Payne looked among the best players on the court, but other times where they looked like they shouldn’t have been on the court.
• Going into this series, I felt like Middleton was one of the most underrated players in the NBA.  Now that people are claiming he is something closer to Kobe Bryant or Scottie Pippen after he has been named to just 2 All-Star games and won 1 title at age 29, I think this might not hold much weight anymore.
• Antetokounmpo went 17-19 from the free throw line in Game 6.  Had he shot closer to his average for the series and went 12-19, for example, it would have been a 2-point game.  That sudden shooting literally changed the game.
• How on earth did Crowder shoot 41% from deep in this series?  He literally shot a combined 2-14 from 3 in games 1 and 6.  Did he seriously shoot 14-25 in the other four games?  Wow, this is just another example of how streaky he can be.
• If I were to bet on who had more fouls between Booker and P.J. Tucker going into this series, I would have never come up with Booker finishing with 23 and Tucker with 21.  I wasn’t surprised Ayton had 23 because of Giannis, but Booker?
• Booker was probably Phoenix’s most valuable player despite his shooting woes by the end of the series.  The team struggled mightily by the end of the series often badly lost any minutes he wasn’t on the court.  I think that is something they need to look into for the future.
• I was a bit surprised that Bobby Portis was able to get as much playing time as he did, but Milwaukee really needed him in a couple games, especially Game 6, when he finished with 16 points and a +6 +/- in just under 23 minutes.  While he isn’t that good of a defender, he’s a decent finisher and a great shooter, shooting 43.8% from deep.
• If we are arguing Middleton is Bryant or Pippen, can I irrationally call Holiday the next Gary Payton?  Why am I asking for permission here?  If Middleton is Bryant or Pippen, Holiday is absolutely Payton.
• Thank God this series didn’t go to Game 7.  While it was an exciting game, it was obvious the teams were so worn out by the end, considering that the Bucks went 6-27 (22.2%) from deep and won; for reference, Phoenix went 6-25 (25%).  Shooting is typically among the first things to go when tired due to the legs being tired and there were multiple instances of players shooting it too short or shorter than they normally would, suggesting this was going on.  Another game would have been difficult to watch without a change in gameplan.
• Ultimately, the Bucks outplayed the Suns in most games and deserved to win this series.  Congratulations to both teams on making it that far and making it a competitive series, and congratulations to the Milwaukee Bucks, the 2021 NBA Champions!

What did you think about the Finals?  Anything you thought during it?  Let me know in the comments!