PREGAME THOUGHTS

Mikal Bridges is an underrated piece for the Suns. So long as a defender and while I didn’t play close attention to his assignment Tuesday, he can stay in front of Giannis. + Jae Crowder and it’s about as good as you can get to limit damage from a hobbled Giannis.

Feel free to use the space as if it’s your own. Words, images, anything is welcome.

PHX comes in with a 1-0 series lead.

Thursday - July 8, 2021

Bucks doing a good job on CP to start the game.

Hi! What a treat to have a finals that’s so fun to watch

A bit distracted from some work stuff...

lmao, giannis airballing the FT as the crowd counts him down

Made a better poster for Game 2

Surprised PHX has kept it close through Q1 where I thought MIL looked a lot better (when I was able to watch closely) to start.

Giannis does look sluggish a bit. Think the conditioning just isn’t there after sitting.

Jrue missed a few layups, i think score is flattering to the suns

The Giannis FT countdowns are so interesting. I’d almost want to just shoot right away because it’s clear he is way too into his own head. But then the chanters win...

Holiday getting the steal and then missing paints a perfect picture of how this series will go.

HOLIDAY MAKES A THREE!

Yeah, he always goes 110%. Just watching his body language, I think he’s going to fall flat as the game goes on.

Giannis has really been doing a good job when he gets switched onto Booker.

(Bridges, the first player in double figures)

Ouch poor Torrey Craig also getting sent flying

everyone on the Suns seems to think Ayton can fly

He did just send Cam Johnson flying though, dude is being aggresive

Giannis thought he ws bringing the Bucks back in it (last 13pts), but CP3 just has answers.

Especially if he can’t knock down free throws down the stretch.

Genius! Love you bringing this in! Didn’t even think of highlights.

Crowder with 9 too, bucks being a teensy bit more aggressive on booker and CP3 and opening up some space

Going to the Giannis iso against Crowder over and over, working so far but for how long?

Whelp he is defineitly going to go for 30+, it’s just a matter of getting stops and getting anything from Holiday and Middleton at this point.

If Lopez is going to keep playing he HAS to dominate the boards.

Holy Ball Movement, Batman! Ends with a (tough) Ayton And-1 at the rim.

Holiday has definitely been aggressive on both ends, but that 3/11 is rough, especially considering Middleton is sitting at 4pts.

Tune for the game.

Middleton gets his first three... we will see if this can get him going now.

Immediatley after, another 3 from CP... as the shot clock buzzer, no less.

jrue killing them on one end, saving them on the other haha

Meeting Ayton up at the rim now too!

Giannis midrange seems to be working for him tonight, which could be big so he’s not exerting a bunch of energy going downhill all night.

Wanted to make a mixtape... Will do one for Game 3.

Ayton’s had a slower game, but Lopez has played even worse.

Yeah, nothing seems to be going right for MIL, but somehow they are still in the game.

Hard to come back when CP3 and Booker are nailing tough threes in your face

must be so demoralising to defend like this, get scored on, and then end the half

With Middleton and Holiday continuing to brick, I feel like the gap should be closer to 20 at this point.

this looks super fun, can’t really watch and participate tho :|

Everytime I think the Bucks are going to cut it Booker or CP3 knock a three in someones face.

a) it’s been super fun to have someone else in here to bounce thoughts off of and have crazy connection lines going all throughout the space.

HALFTIME THOUGHTS

Really impressive game for Bridges, looking calm and under control

As I typed that, Giannis with a great block and then they cut it to 5!

I was going to say who better to close this out for you than CP3, but looking a little shaky

No worries at all, appreciate you dropping in and saying hi!

Looking at the box score, nothing really pops as Phoenix doing better, but Middleton being completely left out, and Holiday’s atrocious FG% are the two biggest factors keeping the Suns up right now.

“Go further, go farther, if not why bother” = Jeff Van Gundy

Giannis has been aggressive and attacking, but 5/10 for 12 isn’t going to be nearly enough, especially with the above two playing as they have.

I think they could really use some more Bobby Portis... (despite my dislike of him from Chicago days)

Want to design a little graphic like this for next game.

He’s continuing to attack... and miss layups...

That was a rough sixty seconds for MIL. Giving up multiple OREBs while down only 6, resulting in a CP3 3 to extend to 9 and then Middleton getting blocked on the other end.

Holy shit... Middleton is 2/10 too...

and Booker is continuing to knock down threes to keep it at double digits...

Didn’t even realize he took ten shots. Seemed kind of quite to me.

I’m guessing Middleton will find his stroke in the second half. Still going to need a 30-piece from Giannis for the Bucks to have a shot though.

Yeah, it’s really been Phoenix shutting down the Bucks and scoring at will on the other end

Even with that poor pass.

He gets one to go! Really rooting for him now

Giannis at the 5 looks bad too, having no answer except to shoot the three, gonna have to sort the offence out

Yeah this is a really fun format!

They’re gonna get 40 from him on a bum knee, still down by 6

POSTGAME THOUGHTS

hi mintie! from FL.tv right??

See Pregame Thoughts, I said Bridges would be key and he came through on both ends of the floor.

she’s seen enough

Smart cat. No Booker, no Giannis, and MIL still fouling.

With Giannis on a bum knee, he was still able to come through and dominate the paint.

But you could tell he couldn’t keep up as the game went on.

That was my assumption, but I never thought to ask. Would be funny if it’s a completely different Mintie

That plus not being able to hit free throws, and Middleton and Holiday having awful games, there’s nothing MIL can do at that point.

PHX is in a great spot, not just for the Finals, but their future with Book, DA, and Bridges.

SUNS WIN 118-108

haha yes, saw the link from there

He definitely accelerated them to this point, but was only a slight upgrade over Rubio, imo.

(last game was 118-105, eerily close)

unreal performance from Giannis, 42/12/4 with 14/17 from two and a respectable 11/18 from the line

I think having both CP3 and Booker presents a different problem for the bucks defense - they’re both so good in iso that it’s pretty tough for them to play Portis and/or play that switching style

42pts (15/22) | 12rebs | 4asts | 3blks | 1stl | +3

17pts (7/21) | 7asts | 5rebs | 2blks | 2stls | -3

11pts (5/16) | 8asts | 6rebs | 2stls | -15

14pts (4/9 from 3) | -14

100%, they definitely wouldn’t be here or doing what they are doing without him, but I think PHX was closer to this than most people believed and as CP3 ages, they won’t miss a beat.

only Buck with a positive +/-

only -3, which is a bit surprising, but his D kept them in while he continued to miss everything.

B O X S C O R E

MINUS 15 OH MY

31pts (12/25) | 7/12 from 3 | 6asts | 5rebs | +10

23pts (10/20) | 8asts | 4rebs | +9

27pts (8/15) | 7rebs | 1ast | +7

10pts (4/10) | 11rebs (4off) | 4asts | 3stls | 2blks | +10

1 of 8 from 3 last game; 7 of 12 tonight. This is the sole reason I picked PHX tonight.

Bucks put the pressure on, but he stayed poised and made the right plays (despite 6 TOs...)

Didn’t put up numbers, but had a really great overall game once again.

Huge that a guy picked #1 has bought into being a role player for this team, scary to think this is his floor