8:30 PM EST, ESPN – Line: Bucks -6, Over/Under: 220
Following one of the most outstanding individual performances in postseason history, the (Two Seed) Brooklyn Nets look to finish off the (Three Seed) Milwaukee Bucks, who in turn are simply desperate to survive and prolong this series a little while longer as the Eastern Conference Semifinals shift back to Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for Game Six. After racing out to a commanding 2-0 lead highlighted by a watershed 125-86 victory in Game Two, the Nets (48-24, 2nd in Eastern Conference) would lose their offensive touch in the following two outings, averaging a meager 89.5 points on just 39.5% shooting from the field, including 27.7% from beyond the arc, with just 17.5 assists in comparison to 12.0 turnovers, including season-lows in points (83), field goal percentage (36.2%), and three-point percentage (25.0%) in Game Three (83-86). Compounding matters was the absence of not only (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), who just moments into this series reaggravated a tender hamstring that caused him to miss twenty-one of the final twenty-four games of the Regular Season, but (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), who limped off the hardwood in Game Four after just over seventeen minutes of action with a sprained ankle. Needless to say, this has been a prevailing issue for Brooklyn throughout the campaign; after acquiring Harden in a massive four-team blockbuster back in Mid-January in an effort to create the National Basketball Association’s newest Big Three alongside Irving and (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), the triumvirate only managed to share the court with each other for only EIGHT games, with each missing a wealth of time due to a variety of reasons. With this series squared away at two games apiece, and without two of their three biggest guns, the Nets found themselves behind the proverbial eight ball, though they were handed a boost at the last possible moment, with Harden cleared to play following a positive showing in the midday shootaround. Visibly hampered by his ailing hamstring, the three-time scoring champion turned in an inspiring performance despite only scoring five points on 1-of-10 shooting (10.0%) in just over forty-five minutes of play, dealing out eight assists for a side that clearly missed someone to facilitate the attack in the previous two defeats. Ironically, it would be his defense in the latter stages of the affair on (two-time MVP) Giannis Antetokounmpo of all people (much more on him shortly) that proved to be his greatest contribution; inside of two minutes to play and the score tied at 104-104, Harden met the Greek International on the baseline twelve feet from the rim, waved off the help defender, and forced the much taller opponent to settle for a turnaround fadeaway that bounced harmlessly off the rim, with the home side outscoring the visitors 10-4 the rest of the way en route to a pivotal 114-108 victory. It was the kind of play that could define a postseason run, but as significant as it was it certainly took a backseat to the performance of Durant, who authored arguably the finest showing of his illustrious career on Tuesday Night. Simply put, the four-time scoring champion was UNSTOPPABLE in Game Five with FORTY-NINE points on a blistering 16-of-23 shooting from the field (69.6%), including 4-of-9 from downtown (44.4%) and 13-of-16 from the charity stripe (81.3%), while also registering seventeen rebounds and ten assists in a complete forty-eight minutes of action. That’s right folks, he played the entire game. It was a historic performance for the 32-year old, who became just the fourth player in Playoff history to put together a 40/15/10 Triple-Double, joining the likes of Oscar Robertson, Charles Barkley, and Luka Doncic. Trailing by as many as points early in the contest, Durant would keep his teammates in the running for much of the night, before absolutely exploding when they needed him most; in the Fourth Quarter he accounted for twenty of the Nets’ thirty-three points, raining down dagger after dagger on the Bucks with the most poignant being a contested trey with under fifty seconds left and Brooklyn clinging to a one-point lead. Immediately after the final whistle, (Head Coach) Steve Nash embraced the eleven-time All-Star in a picturesque fashion, which was poetic given his hiring last fall was largely due to the healthy relationship he enjoyed with Durant as a prior consultant with the Golden State Warriors during the latter’s successful stay on the west coast. As a team, the Nets shot 49.4% from the field, including 16-of-43 from three (37.2%), and 22-of-25 from the free-throw line (88.0%), al the while exhibiting much better ball-movement with twenty-seven assists in comparison to committing only nine turnovers. Apart from Durant’s greatness, Nash & Co received some strong contributions from the supporting cast, including (former All-Star Forward) Blake Griffin (10.0 PTS, 49.2% FG, 38.3% 3FG, 4.7 REB, 2.4 AST, 0.7 STL, 16.3 PER) and (journeyman Forward) Jeff Green (11.0 PTS, 49.2% FG, 41.2% 3FG, 3.9 REB, 1.6 AST, 0.5 STL, 13.0 PER), with the former totaling seventeen points and the latter erupting for twenty-seven points off the bench. Green, now suiting up for his tenth franchise in fourteen years, was unconscious on 8-of-11 shooting (72.7%), including a torrid 7-of-8 from the perimeter (87.5%), with much of his production coming within the home side’s rally from down seventeen points in the Second Quarter. Coming into tonight’s affair, it remains to be seen just how much energy this team will have after expending so much to retake the series lead, though they nonetheless find themselves on the precipice of advancing to what would be the franchise’s first Eastern Conference Final since 2003, and their first since relocating to Brooklyn. Nash has already stated that Irving will continue to be sidelined with that ailing ankle, while it’s anyone’s guess just how effective Harden will be after Tuesday Night’s classic.
Meanwhile, as sensational a victory as Game Five was for their opponent, it was equally CRUSHING for the Bucks (46-26, 3rd in Eastern Conference), who allowed a golden opportunity to press their advantage with a third consecutive victory in this series slip right through their collective grasp. Simply put, given their recent postseason history, you would be hard-pressed to find a team left in the Playoffs with more pressure on them than Milwaukee. despite owning the best record in the National Basketball Association in each of the two previous seasons, and possessing (two-time MVP and 2019-2020 Defensive Player of the Year) 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) along with (two-time Coach of the Year) Mike Budenholzer, the Bucks have been met with premature defeat in each of the last two Playoffs; two years ago they wasted a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals en route to losing four straight contests to the (eventual NBA Champion) Toronto Raptors, and just last Fall in the Bubble Antetokounmpo suffered a high ankle sprain midway through his side’s gentleman’s sweep at the hands of the Miami Heat, who mercilessly exploited the cracks in their armor throughout the series. As a result, the club spent much of this past offseason in an attempt to make the requisite adjustments to get over the proverbial hump. To his credit, Budenholzer changed his tactics, instituting more switching on the defensive end of the hardwood, while also acquiring more defensive-minded, two-way players that could fill multiple roles within his system. (Veteran Point Guard) Jrue Holiday (17.7 PTS, 50.3% FG, 39.2% 3FG, 4.5 REB, 6.1 AST, 1.6 STL, 20.0 PER) arrived via trade, representing a major upgrade over his predecessor, while (improved Forward) Bobby Portis (11.4 PTS, 52.3% FG, 47.1% 3FG, 7.1 REB, 1.1 AST, 0.8 STL, 19.9 PER) and (veteran tough guy) P.J. Tucker (2.6 PTS, 39.1% FG, 39.4% 3FG, 2.8 REB, 0.8 AST, 0.5 STL, 5.7 PER) have injected some sorely-needed steel and attitude into the rotation. Armed with reinforcements, Milwaukee has spent much of this postseason run exercising their demons, having already swept the (reigning Eastern Conference Champion) Miami Heat in a merciless First Round Sweep, outscoring them by an average margin of 20.5 points per game with the last three chapters of the series being decided by a staggering EIGHTY points. However, all that good will that they had amassed in the previous round has dissipated in this matchup with the Nets, for if they do indeed come short for a third consecutive postseason then they will have nobody to blame but themselves. Taking a step back and looking at how these Playoffs have played out, one can’t help but lament the wasteful nature of this club; on the opposite side of the bracket, the top-seeded 76ers are being pushed to the limit by the upstart Hawks, while out west the traditional powers have all been eliminated, and in this very series against Brooklyn they face a side that yet to be at full strength in any game. With Harden going down early in Game One and visibly hampered throughout Game Five, the fact that Milwaukee has yet to take a single game on their opponent’s court has to be a bitter pill to swallow. In Games One and Two their defense was absolutely eviscerated to the tune of 120.0 points on 49.5% shooting overall, including a ridiculous 44.4% from beyond the arc where they were outscored by a staggering SIXTY-SIX points, and in Tuesday’s defeat the margin was much smaller from downtown (Minus-9), but they still allowed the hosts to shoot over 49.0% from the field. And then there is their propensity for giving up sizable leads; the warning signs were there in Game Three’s narrow 86-83 victory, in which Budenholzer’s troops wasted a 21-point lead and very nearly fell into an inescapable 3-0 hole before Holiday’s heroics saved them in crunch time. In Game Five they raced out to an early seventeen-point advantage only to shoot themselves in the foot with some questionable lineups in the Third Quarter where they were outscored 38-28, allowing the hosts to net (no pun intended) a scintillating 66.7% of their attempts as Durant really began heating up. Lastly, their continued miscues on the offensive end have bene nothing short of perplexing. On the series, Milwaukee has been borderline confounded by Brooklyn’s defense, averaging just 98.8 points on a disappointing 43.9% shooting, including 29.3% from the perimeter and an unacceptable 63.1% from the charity stripe. Keep in mind that the Bucks were the highest-scoring outfit in the NBA this season (120.1 PTS), not the Nets, and their opponent was far from an immoveable object defensively in yielding 114.1 points per game (21st Overall), and the fact that they haven’t been able to exploit that has been maddening to say the least. Oh, and then there’s Antetokounmpo, who despite scoring thirty-four points on Tuesday Night routinely came up short down the stretch, whether it was letting Harden off the hook on that aforementioned late post-up, or bricking a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, for literally DROPPING the basketball as his teammate dished to him on a late drive, with that turnover essentially sealing the outcome of the affair. His free-throw shooting has obviously been an issue too; though he was relatively solid in Game Five (4-of-7), the 26-year old has left PLENTY of points on the table missing a ridiculous twenty-one of his thirty-six free-throw attempts, netting a paltry 41.7% in the series. And given his defensive award, why hasn’t he risen to the challenge of defending Durant? We certainly understand how important he is on the offensive end, but given his teammates had ZERO answers for his counterpart, it’s perplexing that he didn’t cover him more frequently. With that chapter in the books, the Bucks now find themselves on the brink of elimination, and with that an offseason full of questions. Will the club part ways with Budenholzer following another disappointing Playoff run, and who would be a viable candidate to replace him? Will they be able to improve the supporting cast around Antetokounmpo with a maxed out wage bill? Needless to say, the rest of this summer is shaping up to be a long, hot one for the Bucks…