NBA Finals

[Monster]

I love Devin Booker's intensity, but does anyone else think he got away with at least 7 fouls last night? I appreciate that referees call the game differently in the playoffs, but some of the calls they missed on Booker last night were unacceptable. On the other hand, I really like it when a player whines about a call, and Van Gundy says matter of factly "that's a foul".

I also endorse Q's comment above that these playoffs are showing us just how far our Wolves are from these two teams. I can only hope that Rosas is watching closely and making the same observation, and planning on how he can revise this roster to make us competitive.

The Wolves being competitive...let's remember both the Bucks and Suns have 2 significant contributors they added this season. The Suns added Paul and Crowder (Payne played 8 games in the bubble) and the Bucks added Holiday and Tucker. The Bucks were a good team before they made their moves but I'm not sure they get here without improving their roster like they did with those additions. So yes the Wolves may have some work to do but there is hope for adding to the roster to make some strides. The question is whether or not Towns and even Russell makes a jump like Booker did by being a winning player. It likely helped to have some good players around him too but he should get credit (along with some for Monte Williams) for becoming a much more complete player. I like the potential of the correct roster but I do think that Rosas needs to find some way to add a solid vet contributor to add to the group they have. Like I have been saying for a while I don't think they have to spend big money or assets to do it. I also think Rubio if he is still on the roster can be part of the solid good players around young guys factor I spoke of.

I agree, Monster. But no matter who we add, the fate of the Wolves remains tied to our current core of KAT, DLO and Ant, along with McDaniels and Beasley to a lesser extent. Milwaukee had the best record in the East the year before they acquired Holiday and Tucker. The Suns had already taken off with their great bubble performance before acquiring Paul and Crowder. Adding a solid veteran piece or two works if our existing foundation is solid and that remains an open question, although I'm more optimistic than others about the quality/potential of our existing core. I recall how quickly the Suns moved from one of the worst teams to one of the best primarily through the maturation of their existing young core.

I know I'm just restating what you already acknowledged in your post when you noted the question of whether Towns or Russell can make a Booker-like jump. That's an important question. Thankfully, we now have Ant and McDaniels as well. Both have great potential and the opportunity to make big jumps in their play with their rookie seasons under their belts and a full training camp coming up this fall. We have other players with the potential to make significant jumps, including Nowell, Culver, Naz Reid, Vanderbilt and even Beasley. I'll also highlight your point about giving Monte Williams some credit for the Suns turn-around. We saw a similar coaching impact on the Hawks with their coaching change. So I wouldn't underestimate the impact Chris Finch will have on the Wolves next season. I think we already started to see that impact at the end of last season. I think he's a terrific head coach. And remember, the guy he replaced (while a great person by all accounts) wasn't anything close to an NBA-caliber head coach.

I think you were getting at this but I will mention the coaches the Suns had before Williams weren't good head coaches either although the international guy they had for that one year I think was qualified to get and to be fair to him also think he was hamstrung a bit by a front office that though Booker and some fringe NBA players at PG was a good idea.

When the Suns got Monte Williams I was like good for them they won't suck in the coaching dept. I think he (and his staff) has clearly exceeded expectations. I remember hearing reports that Glen Taylor was a fan of him...it probably wouldn't have worked as well here but it may have been nice to have a competent coach at some point before we hired Finch who we hope can be a guy that helps move things forward although I'd maybe settle for a guy that doesn't screw things up.

We have had a couple threads over the years where retread coaches have been discussed. Monte Williams is the latest guy to find success. Nate McMillen was one of these guys that hadn't been hired for years and now has done well with 2 teams. Maybe some of these guys who are referred shouldn't be completely dismissed. I was a fan of Nate McMillen as a solid guy that could help a team take the next step. I wasn't expecting him to turn into a guy a team would be lucky to hire. He is a different beast but Thibs is also a retread that has found success. Of course you also have some accomplished head coaches like SVG who would now be in retread status that didn't find success in their last stop. Even for some coaches that are probably good at their job, fit does matter.

[Coolbreeze44]

Middleton was terrific last night, and the Bucks wouldn't be here without him. But don't forget how maddeningly inconsistent he is. He has his moments of brilliance, but he also disappears for entire games. He needs to put up one of these efforts in Phoenix for the Bucks to have a chance.

I believe the key now is which X factor, Middleton or Paul, can play the best over the next 3 games. Paul is showing signs of wearing down, and Jrue is frustrating him. Middleton has to find the consistency to play a big game on the road. Giannis is going to bring it every night, and I doubt Booker has any more poor shooting games. I'm already nervous for game 5.

[Monster]

Middleton was terrific last night, and the Bucks wouldn't be here without him. But don't forget how maddeningly inconsistent he is. He has his moments of brilliance, but he also disappears for entire games. He needs to put up one of these efforts in Phoenix for the Bucks to have a chance.

I believe the key now is which X factor, Middleton or Paul, can play the best over the next 3 games. Paul is showing signs of wearing down, and Jrue is frustrating him. Middleton has to find the consistency to play a big game on the road. Giannis is going to bring it every night, and I doubt Booker has any more poor shooting games. I'm already nervous for game 5.

Yes Cool I agree with your take on Middleton. I don't think he is consistent offensively enough to actually be a true star. He is a really good 2 way player and IMO has become more assertive as a scorer the last couple years which has made him a guy in that next tier of really damn good players especially since he plays both ways. I don't think anyone really expects Middleton to be a star player every game. If Chris Paul doesn't get back on track then I predict the Suns win the series. I believe he struggled a bit in before in this playoffs so I would expect him to find a way to be effective. I also think a bench player could turn this series one way or another.

It's fun to look back at that 2nd round of the 2012 draft. Satoransky, Crowder, Draymond, Middleton and Will Barton were 5 of the top 10 picks of that round. That's a pretty good group of players 2 of them currently playing key roles in the NBA finals.

[Coolbreeze44]

I'm convinced the Bucks have the better talent and should win the series. I'm not saying they will, in fact to me it's a tossup. But I can't understand why they don't punish the Suns inside with Giannis and Lopez. They are making this a lot harder on themselves than they need to. If they would exploit the Suns weakness with their strength, this series wouldn't be nearly as competitive. Too many possessions have BOTH Giannis and Blake positioned above the arc - makes no sense. It's there for you Bud, all you have to do is take it.

[Lipoli390]

I'm convinced the Bucks have the better talent and should win the series. I'm not saying they will, in fact to me it's a tossup. But I can't understand why they don't punish the Suns inside with Giannis and Lopez. They are making this a lot harder on themselves than they need to. If they would exploit the Suns weakness with their strength, this series wouldn't be nearly as competitive. Too many possessions have BOTH Giannis and Blake positioned above the arc - makes no sense. It's there for you Bud, all you have to do is take it.

Great points, Cool!

[Lipoli390]

If you're watching the 3rd quarter of game 5 you'll see the critical importance of the mid-range jump shot. Right now, it's a battle of twos. Both teams are hitting really well-defended 2-point jumpers - a reminder that, as important as defense is, your best players have to be able to hit well-defended mid-range jumpers at a high rate for a team to be successful in the playoffs.

[Lipoli390]

Giannis is 4 for 9 from the line tonight. He just missed the first of two with a minute left in a three-point game. Poor free-throw shooting is a glaring shortcoming in a star player become you expect your star to have the ball a lot, especially in crunch time.

Update: Giannis missed both free throws and then Chris Paul made it a one-point game with a driving layup. Giannis is thus far 4 for 10 from the line. That's a serious problem. I'm thinking of Ben Simmons right now.

[Lipoli390]

But then Jrue Holiday steals the ball from Booker to stop the Suns from taking the lead. I'm thinking again of Ben Simmons and his defense. Then Jrue throws it up perfectly on the other end for a Giannis slam. That could have been Ben Simmons throwing the pass or throwing it down.

[Lipoli390]

Great win for the Bucks tonight at Phoenix. They're set up to win the title at home in game 6.

[FNG]

Great win for the Bucks tonight at Phoenix. They're set up to win the title at home in game 6.

Yeah, they should be able to close it out in 6, and that pleases most of us here. It's interesting to recall that Vegas had the Suns as -180 favorites to win the series. I suggested that the Bucks were clearly the superior team, and that the line indicated Vegas didn't believe Giannis was healthy enough to be a factor in the playoffs. They were wrong with Giannis averaging almost 40 MPG and playing brilliantly, and it looks like the Bucks will win in 6.

Lip makes a great observation above that the final minute of the game was a mural of Ben Simmons' game...missed free throws, clutch defensive play and an alley oop flush to close it out...three things that Ben does. With unique players like Ben and Giannis, you take the very good with the bad. With Ben it's not only free throws...he also rarely takes an outside shot. But with both of them I would argue that the spectacular things they do throughout the game far outweighs their free throw struggles.

I really enjoyed the emergence of Pat Connaughton in the past two games. Bud has rewarded him with 33 minutes in both games, only exceeded by the Bucks' three stars, and he has consistently been a big factor at both ends of the court. Losing Donte for the series was a huge loss for the Bucks to overcome, but Pat filled the role very well off the bench...what a great impact he had on the past two games.