12/15/2023 0 Comments 2021 nba western conference finals![]() ![]() The two teams could not have been more evenly matched, so fingers crossed for Antetokounmpo's health. Granted, the Bucks played that first showdown without Holiday, who was diagnosed with COVID-19.Īlthough, Phoenix's roster balance outlasted 84 combined points from Antetokounmpo, Holiday and Middleton in a mid-April overtime victory, thanks to Bucks forward P.J. The victory bolstered Phoenix's credibility as a contender after a decade mired in the lottery, and the loss raised more questions about who executes late in games for Milwaukee. In their first meeting, played during a February trial run starting Frank Kaminsky at power forward, all five Suns starters scored in double figures, led by 58 points from Paul and Booker, to overcome a masterful 47-point effort from Antetokounmpo. Both games were decided by a single point. Phoenix won its season series with Milwaukee, 2-0. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images) (Christian Petersen via Getty Images) Head to head At what strength is a question.Ĭhris Paul and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the last NBA superstars left standing. Our Chris Haynes reported optimism that he could have been available for a Game 7 of the conference finals that never happened, and Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer called the injury "just a day-to-day thing" leading into Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Still, everything hinges on the health of Antetokounmpo, who avoided structural damage to his left knee. Trading Bledsoe for Holiday gave the offense another playmaking dimension and strengthened a defense that now ranks No. That offense failed them in postseasons past, when Antetokounmpo's inability to score outside 5 feet and Eric Bledsoe's disappearing act made them mortal. The Bucks have for years now been a dominant regular-season team, balancing elite defense with high-efficiency offense. ![]() Of course, Milwaukee also lost two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to a hyperextended knee midway through Game 4 and still managed to win Games 5 and 6 handily behind bona fide supporting actors Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. Instead, the Bucks faced the fifth-seeded Hawks, who lost rising superstar Trae Young to an ankle injury in Games 4 and 5 of a series that should have been shorter. And in the conference finals, Milwaukee avoided the Philadelphia 76ers, who could not survive a severely limiting knee injury to Joel Embiid and an absolute offensive meltdown by Ben Simmons. They, too, benefited from injuries to James Harden and Kyrie Irving in the second round, and still required overtime in Game 7 to beat Kevin Durant. The Bucks exorcized the demons of last year's playoffs in the first round, sweeping a Miami Heat team that had ousted them in the 2020 Eastern Conference semifinals in embarrassing fashion. He is representative of a team that plays hard but smart, rarely beating themselves and following the lead of a player-coach dynamic between Paul and Monty Williams that dates back a decade and became one of the great stories of these playoffs. The Suns feature effective backups at every position but Ayton's, an apparent weakness that has yet to bite them, because the 22-year-old 7-footer has largely avoided foul trouble. Their starting lineup fits together as well as any in the league, anchored by Paul's unrivaled command of the floor, Booker's pure shooting ability and DeAndre Ayton's ascent as a true center whose game transcends modern offenses. Phoenix has been in the playoffs what Phoenix was during the regular season. The sum total of their rotation's lost games is three. The Suns still may have rolled through healthy editions of those teams - all of whom were inferior during the regular season - and they have dealt with their own (albeit more fortunate) set of circumstances in the playoffs, including Chris Paul's shoulder injury, his COVID-19 diagnosis, Devin Booker's broken nose, Cam Payne's rolled ankle and Cameron Johnson's illness. ![]()
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