Which non-star will play the biggest role in deciding Game 5? If Middleton plays up to the level he's capable of, it makes the Bucks very, very hard to beat.ģ. The only losses the Bucks have had this season when he has scored 18 or more have come in Game 1 of the Finals (with Antetokounmpo just coming back from injury) and Game 5 of the semifinals against the Nets, when Brooklyn came from behind in the fourth quarter. But as Middleton goes, so goes the Bucks' record. The 32-14-5 line so far in the Finals tells us that. Let me be clear: Antetokounmpo is the Bucks' best player. Middleton remains an underappreciated star and has shown to be the closer for this team, but he doesn't carry the same level of importance as the two-time MVP. Middleton is awesome, but he can't do everything Antetokounmpo does. In games he scores 18 or more, the Bucks are 12-2.įriedell: Fiction. This postseason, the Bucks are 2-5 in games Middleton scores 17 or fewer. The reality is that the Bucks generally go as Middleton goes. In Game 4, Middleton outscored the Suns by himself 10-4 in the last 2 minutes, 15 seconds of game time. Middleton is his high-caliber sidekick, but it's silly to even suggest that anyone is more important than the man who is averaging 32.3 points, 14.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and dominating defensively during the Finals. Antetokounmpo is a two-time MVP who is playing the best basketball of his career. Middleton's 40 points and outrageous crunch-time shot-making in that game are fresh in our minds, but Antetokounmpo put up 83 points on 29-of-45 shooting combined in Games 2 and 3. It's close, but it's still Giannis Antetokounmpo for his all-around play - as exemplified by the all-time block on Deandre Ayton to help the Bucks clinch Game 4. Fact or fiction: Khris Middleton has become the Bucks' most important player? As one of the greatest point guards of the era, you have to figure he will right himself heading into Game 5.Ģ.
It doesn't matter how well Devin Booker plays if Paul continues turning over the ball like this. All we've heard all season long is how much of a stabilizer Paul is for the young Suns offense. If the Suns are going to win, they need to do away with "The New Chris Paul" and bring back the old one. According to NBA Stats, Holiday has guarded Paul on 78 possessions and has forced seven turnovers. The main reason for this is Holiday's defense. Paul's 15 turnovers over the past three games are the most he has had in a three-game stretch in the playoffs since 2012. Some of them can be attributed to uncharacteristic sloppiness, but the relentless pressure from All-Defensive selection Holiday has been a major factor. Paul averaged only 1.6 turnovers in his first 15 games of the playoffs, and he has committed a total of 15 in the past three games. Just ask Paul, who pinpointed his turnovers as the Suns' biggest problem in Game 4. The four trends that are deciding these Finals.
Phoenix has contained the Bucks in the half court, but transition is another story. They also ignite Milwaukee's lethal transition game. Paul's uncharacteristic turnovers are a big part of that possession edge. Unless the Suns reverse one or two of those trends, I don't think the one big mathematical edge they hold - home-court advantage - will be enough.
They are walloping Phoenix on the offensive glass, forcing more turnovers, getting to the line more and generating better shots (by a lot). The Bucks are winning just about every numbers battle, including and especially the possession battle. Zach Lowe: Something, and close to everything. He had just eight turnovers in 152 minutes of clutch time all season prior to that.
Paul had two turnovers in clutch time - defined by the NBA as a game with a score within five points in the final five minutes - in Game 4. The work Holiday is doing on the defensive end is starting to pay off, and we saw Paul do something he rarely does: turn the ball over in clutch minutes. Giannis Antetokounmpo cites needing to go to the bathroom for leaving in the first quarters of Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals.Īndrew Lopez: It's something, and that something is Jrue Holiday. Giannis 'went to take a tinkle' when he left in 1st quarter