7:30 PM EST, ESPN – Line: Bucks -3.5, Over/Under: 234
What was initially billed as a defacto NBA Finals matchup has turned into an overwhelmingly one-sided affair as the (Two Seed) Brooklyn Nets stand poised to secure a commanding 3-0 lead over the (Three Seed) Milwaukee Bucks, as the series shifts to Wisconsin for a pivotal Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At this point it should come as no surprise that the Nets (48-24, 2nd in Eastern Conference) have rounded into a dominant force in these Playoffs, with or without their triumvirate of superstars completely intact. We’ve pondered over and over again on this site as to if Brooklyn well ever enjoy a full complement of the talent that they moved mountains to procure. With that said, that discussion may have been rendered moot by their continued high level of play. It all started two summers ago when they managed to pull a major coup in signing both (2013-2014 MVP) Kevin Durant (26.9 PTS, 53.7% FG, 45.0% 3FG, 7.1 REB, 5.6 AST, 0.7 STL, 1.3 BLK, 26.4 PER) alongside (seven-time All-Star) Kyrie Irving (26.9 PTS, 50.6% FG, 40.2% 3FG, 4.8 REB, 6.0 AST, 1.4 STL, 24.4 PER) in Free Agency. Though Durant was coming off an Achilles tear that would sideline him for the entirety of his first season with the franchise and Irving would only participate in twenty contests, the team figured to be one of the favorites in the East merely on paper alone. Then the club hired (former two-time MVP) Steve Nash to be their new Head Coach in a bold move that further place the spotlight squarely on them. After getting off to a middling 7-6 start, the Nets would engineer the long-rumored blockbuster deal that would see (2017-2018 MVP) James Harden (24.6 PTS, 47.1% FG, 36.6% 3FG, 8.5 REB, 10.9 AST, 1.3 STL, 0.8 BLK, 25.0 PER) bring his talents to Barclays Center, a four-team deal that saw them completely restructure their roster in an attempt to create the National Basketball Association’s newest big three. If the last decade has taught us anything about the NBA, it’s that amassing superstars is the most effective way of winning championships, and Brooklyn is simply the latest subscriber to that ideology. Since the trade, they would go on to put together a sterling 41-18 record despite only having Durant, Irving, and Harden all on the hardwood together for a mere eight games, with Durant missing thirty-seven games to quadriceps and hamstring strains, and Harden for twenty-one of the final twenty-four games of the Regular Season due to an ailing hamstring of his own, while Irving… well, he was out of action for eighteen for a variety of reasons. And this of course brings us to this particular series with the Bucks, whom one would figure they would indeed need all hands on deck to compete against. Well, it turns out that this group has proven to be extremely formidable with or without the aforementioned Harden, who reaggravated his tender hamstring minutes into Game One, a 115-107 victory. Durant and Irving combined for fifty-four points on 23-of-51 shooting from the field (45.1%), along with fifteen rebounds and eleven assists, while the supporting cast stepped up to help fill the void left by the three-time scoring champion. (Sharpshooter) Joe Harris (14.1 PTS, 50.5% FG, 47.5% 3FG, 3.6 REB, 1.9 AST, 0.7 STL, 14.1 PER) finished with nineteen points, knocking down 5-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc (55.6%), while (veteran Forward) Blake Griffin (10.0 PTS, 49.2% FG, 38.3% 3FG, 4.7 REB, 2.4 AST, 0.7 STL, 16.3 PER), who was acquired via Buyout midseason, turned back the clock with eighteen points and fourteen rebounds, all the while logging key defensive minutes against Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (more on him shortly). While some thought that Game Two would be a much closer affair without Harden’s presence, that notion was quickly dispelled following the opening tip, with the hosts absolutely DOMINATING them with remarkable ease. Brooklyn raced out to a 36-19 lead n the First Quarter would never come close to relinquishing their lead, as they shot a torrid 52.1% from the field, including 21-of-42 from downtown (50.0%), where they outscored them by a whopping THIRTY-NINE points. Durant out in a virtuoso performance with thirty-two points on an uber-efficient 12-of-18 shooting (66.7%), including 4-of-6 from three (66.7%), while Irving added twenty-two points on 9-of-17 shooting (52.9%) and 4-of-8 from the perimeter (50.0%). Both players dished out six assists. As easy as it would be to wax poetic over their offensive exploits thus far, it’s been their play on the defensive end of the court that has been the most impressive. Simply put, defense was not their strong suit during the Regular Season, in which Nash’s charges ranked twenty-first in points allowed (114.1), with many pointing out that they would struggle to slow down better teams in the Playoffs, while being forced to rely on Durant, Irving, and Harden to carry them offensively. That notion has apparently been dispelled altogether, with Brooklyn relegating Milwaukee, the highest-scoring side in the league, to a paltry 96.5 points on 44.3% shooting overall, including a dire 24.6% from long-range, with nearly as many turnovers (30) as assists (35), which needless to say are all well below their season averages. While it’s certainly debatable as to the sustainability of their play on the defensive end, it serves as a reminder of this team’s insanely lofty potential, though we already figured that when they put those three superstars together. Two MVP awards, seven scoring titles, eighteen All-NBA nods, twenty-seven All-Star selections, and three Larry O’Brien trophies between them… yeah, this is what we expected.
Meanwhile, we’re about to see just how much the Bucks (46-26, 3rd in Eastern Conference) have learned from the past postseason mistakes as they are staring the down the barrel of a loaded gun as they look to avoid falling into a three-game hole. In each of the last two Playoffs, Milwaukee entered the field armed with the best record in the East, though flamed out in unceremonious fashion on each occasion; in 2019 they dropped four consecutive games after building a two-game lead against the (eventual champion) Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals, followed by finding themselves on the wrong side of a gentleman’s sweep in the Bubble against the Miami Heat in the Conference Semifinals. As a result, the franchise did an awful lot of soul-searching in short period of time, making changes to their roster and ideology in an attempt to become better suited for the postseason. (Head Coach) Mike Budenholzer tweaked his philosophy by urging his charges to switch more defensively (which was something that Miami relentlessly exploited last Fall), while the club added more steel to the defensive end in the form of (veteran Points Guard) Jrue Holiday (17.7 PTS, 50.3% FG, 39.2% 3FG, 4.5 REB, 6.1 AST, 1.6 STL, 20.0 PER) and (aging tough man) P.J. Tucker (2.6 PTS, 39.1% FG, 39.4% 3FG, 2.8 REB, 0.8 AST, 0.5 STL, 5.7 PER). By and large, these changes and additions translated to a stronger side, with Holiday in particular appearing to be the missing ingredient for a group that struggled at the position in recent years. The Bucks would go on to lead the league in scoring at 120.1 points per game on 48.7% shooting (3rd Overall). Needless to say, they clearly appeared to be more prepared for the Playoffs during their utter demolition of the Heat, sweeping them in merciless fashion over the course of four games. Talk about exercising demons, Milwaukee outscored Miami by an average margin of 20.5 points per game with the last three games being decided by a combined EIGHTY points. Furthermore, (two-time reigning MVP) Giannis Antetokounmpo (28.1 PTS, 56.9% FG, 30.3% 3FG, 11.0 REB, 5.9 AST, 1.2 STL, 1.2 BLK, 29.2 PER), who struggled mightily against them last year, showed out in a major way, averaging 23.5 points on 45.0% shooting, along with 15.0 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 1.8 steals, with five other players scoring in double-figures. So armed with that feeling of redemption, how would this team fair against the offensive juggernaut that is the Nets, you ask? Well, Budenholzer’s charges were 2-1 against them in the Regular Season, having their way on the defensive end of the hardwood where they logged 121.3 points per game on 45.8% shooting, including 35.6% from beyond the arc, while dishing out 21.0 assists in comparison to committing just 9.0 turnovers in what were three very tightly-contested, high-scoring affairs. With that said, this series has been about as one-sided as one could imagine, with the Bucks once again on the precipice of another disappointing postseason disaster. Losing Game One 115-107 wasn’t the most surprising of results, for even though the Nets lost Harden early on, the contest was still relatively close for long stretches. Game Two however, was another matter altogether; Milwaukee struggled mightily on the offensive end, posting a season-low eighty-six points on just 44.0% shooting from the field against a team that had been one of the poorest defensive units in the league throughout the duration of the campaign. Simply put, nothing worked for them with Antetokounmpo managing a meager eighteen points on 8-of-15 shooting (53.3%), while missing all three of his attempts from the perimeter and all but two of his seven free-throws (28.6%). Along with (sharpshooting Forward) Khris Middleton (20.4 PTS, 47.6% FG, 41.4% 3FG, 6.0 REB, 5.4 AST, 1.1 STL, 18.2 PER), who ended up with seventeen points on 7-of-20 shooting (35.0%), they combined for eight for their side’s sixteen turnovers, with the offense oftentimes looking stuck in the mud with only fourteen assists. Something is going to have to give here, folks, for this is a far cry from the group that annihilated Miami just a week ago. Antetokounmpo has been utterly outplayed by Durant, with the reigning Defensive Player of the Year proving unable to slow down the four-time scoring champion, while Middleton has been largely MIA thus far with just 15.0 points on 30.2% shooting. Holiday for that matter has struggled mightily to contain Irving on defense, while the team’s overall shooting prowess from the perimeter has been rendered inert; Milwaukee ranked fifth in both three-pointers (14.4) and three-point percentage (38.9%) during the Regular Season, but in this series has netted only 14-of-57 attempts (24.6%), and have thus been outscored by a sizeable margin of SIXTY-SIX points in that regard over the first two contests. The members of the supporting cast, namely Brynn Forbes (10.0 PTS, 47.3% FG, 45.2% 3FG, 1.6 REB, 0.6 AST, 12.8 PER) and Bobby Portis (11.4 PTS, 52.3% FG, 47.1% 3FG, 7.1 REB, 1.1 AST, 0.8 STL, 19.9 PER), who each finished in the league’s top-five in three-point percentage, haven’t had the expected impact thus far, combining for a mere 3-of-12 (25.0%), with the latter getting embarrassed by Durant in the minutes that Antetokounmpo has defended someone else. With rumors of a potential shakeup coming if the Bucks continue down this path, the pressure has never been higher for this team to perform at a higher level, though fortunately for them there is still time to turn things around. The margin for error though, has never been thinner…