- The Budenholzer Head-Scratcher
Devin Booker has been guarded by the best defenders at his level since he was in high school — and he has given them the work every time. Chris Paul has seen literally every defensive coverage in the book; he could probably run a pick-and-roll with his eyes closed. You know this, I know this, we all know this. So I want to know who in the Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff had the bright idea to continuously switch 7-foot Brook Lopez onto the Suns two best players throughout Game 1.
No disrespect to Brook Lopez, the guy can ball. His spacing and rim protection is extremely valuable next to Giannis and the Bucks might not even be in these Finals without him. But Bro-Lo runs like his feet are stuck in cement, and we are expecting him to go out and stick Chris Paul or Devin Booker on an island?
I get the idea behind it, honestly. The Suns love to run a bunch of set plays that flow into secondary actions to create easy buckets, and then they got their patented go-to play — the 1-5 pick-and-roll with Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton. Running a switching scheme eliminates the pick-and-roll action, while forcing the Suns to run isolation plays more than they’d like to.
But in Game 1, CP and Book got way too comfortable. Their eyes lit up when they found Lopez on them, and they got to their lil dancey-dance, with an array of tough stepback threes and leaning fadeaways. And when Lopez wasn’t switching, sitting in drop coverage, they’d run right at him again, with Chris Paul snaking the pick and roll or Booker getting into that sweet spot in the midrange.
Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer’s biggest knock has always been his lackluster adjustments. Guys like Monty Williams and Tyronn Lue (yes, he’s a good coach, not just LeBron’s ballboy) are praised because they play a 7-game playoff series like a chess match, and a majority of the time, they’re the ones saying “Checkmate” (Lue has a 10-3 record in elimination games, highest winning percentage of all time). Budenholzer is going to have to stop being stubborn and take Brook Lopez off the court. I’d expect to see a lot more of Giannis at the 5 and maybe some more Bobby Portis minutes sprinkled in during Game 2.
- Giannis Looked Okay, and That’s Great News
Looking at Giannis’ box score, he had 20 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists. Not bad, not bad. Eleven shot attempts is a little low for my liking, but 12 attempted free throws tells me he was still being aggressive getting to the rim, which is HUGE. I mean, he almost blew out his knee last week, and now he’s back dropping double-doubles in the NBA Finals. He can’t be human.
That being said, he is going to need to be better and more dominant if he wants a ring. This form of Giannis is great, but he isn’t the generational one we are used to seeing. And that is okay, it’s just Game 1. We got a long way to go in this series, and he’ll be better. But now we know he is healthy enough to do it. When I saw this play, I was like, “Aight, he’s good. He’s here.”
Mentally, this game was big for Giannis. After getting injured like he was, being able to go out in a Finals game and be productive shows him that he (and his knee) CAN do it; he knows a ring is within his reach now, he just has to go get it.
- Jrue Holiday…WAKE UP
Jrue Holiday is simply too good to put up 10 points on 14 shots in 40 minutes. He had a terrible offensive series against the Brooklyn Nets, and at times looked like he was in his own head. He was better against Atlanta, but with Giannis hobbled now, he has to be better and take more control on offense.
I heard someone say the other day that Jrue Holiday is a predetermined decision maker, meaning he usually decides whether he will pass, shoot, pump fake, etc., before actually making that move, rather than reacting to the defense first. I hadn’t noticed that before, despite Holiday being one of my favorite players to watch, so that’ll be something I will be on the lookout for in Game 2.
- I Love Watching the Suns
The Suns are poetry in motion. If you want to watch great basketball, watch a Monty Williams’ team. Set plays run to perfection, with Chris Paul, the Point God, running the show. Their offense flows into secondary actions when the first option isn’t there. So often, you see star-led teams fall in love with isolations or pick-and-rolls, and the other players are ball-watching. The Suns are constantly in movement like a well-oiled machine.
Just watch this play — the Suns continue to run the “Where’s Brook Lopez” offense to get that Book-on-Brook matchup. Look at Mikal Bridges at the top of the screen, shuffling back and forth to gain a favorable passing angle for Booker, resulting in an eventual three from Bridges.
The Suns are literally the poster child for a great, MODERN NBA team — a playmaking point guard next to a talented, efficient bucket-getter, with an athletic, versatile 5 manning the middle. Combine that with smart, role players who play within themselves, an exceptional coach, and a fantastic GM in James Jones, who grew under the Pat Riley regime in Miami, and BOOM. You find yourselves 3 wins away from an NBA Championship.
Hoops From The Stands 