PG: Bucks Regain Home Court, Whip Boston

[Jez2983]

Two words gentlemen: Mike Budenholzer.
What was Boston's biggest weapon against us? the Horford/Kyrie P&R. Where was it last night? Gone, disappeared, shut down completely. For the longest stretch Boston was reduced to Kyrie circus shots, and most of them were attempted at the worst possible angles with Giannis/Pat/Eric flying over him like bats from hell LOL

I don't know exactly what Bud does to this team but he definitely sees the game much clearer than me. He's got some secret sauce.

It's so weird to have a fantastic coach. I still think Stephens is a wonderful coach, he's really done well to maximize what he can get out of his roster.

He just doesn't have an MVP.

[Pachinko_]

It's so weird to have a fantastic coach. I still think Stephens is a wonderful coach, he's really done well to maximize what he can get out of his roster.

He just doesn't have an MVP.

He is really good, but he sounded defeated in that post game interview.

[ampd]

My thing with the calls is yea, we got a good whistle. But it's ENTIRELY because they pack the lane with three to four, sometimes five guys, and they're all swiping at the ball. If that's the defense they're sticking with, Giannis is gonna pick up a boatload of foul calls.

Even when they get called for it, it's still better for them than getting dunked on, since Giannis is not an elite FT shooter but he is pretty elite at dunking on fools

[JustinCredible]

Reading through the Celtics game 4 thread and all of them want the Celtics to play Giannis straight up 1 on 1. That’s the big adjustment they want.

Is it possible the Celtics would do that?

That would be awesome.

[thomchatt3rton]

Reading through the Celtics game 4 thread and all of them want the Celtics to play Giannis straight up 1 on 1. That’s the big adjustment they want.

Is it possible the Celtics would do that?

That would be awesome.

Thats what I would do if I were them


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[BUCKnation]

Kyrie and Horford looked lost when they got a mismatch. It was bizarre. Kyrie frequently setted for a long jumper when brook switched on him and maybe drove at him twice when brook wasn't perfectly faced up at the time of the switch. Horford kept picking up his dribble when he got a guard on him, although I think Giannis looking to help got him shook.

[WRau1]

Celtics fans think that Giannis is the only Bucks capable of winning a 1 on 1 matchup, thus let him have his and lock the others down. God, I hope they try that.

[tedbrogen]

Reading through the Celtics game 4 thread and all of them want the Celtics to play Giannis straight up 1 on 1. That’s the big adjustment they want.

Is it possible the Celtics would do that?

That would be awesome.

That's what they did in the first game in the regular season. It somewhat worked for the first three quarters. Of course the Celtics had to have a franchise best night from three, Bud refused to switch up his D coverages because it was so early in the season, and the Bucks still had Delly, Snelly, and Henson entrenched in the rotation.

They'll probably stick with the fouling with multiple guys for game four and hope for a friendly lack of whistles. Game five, I bet they try straight up and focus on shutting everyone else down to change things up. Now the guy covering Giannis will still play overly physical, they will just not send four other guys to help.

[thomchatt3rton]

Celtics fans think that Giannis is the only Bucks capable of winning a 1 on 1 matchup, thus let him have his and lock the others down. God, I hope they try that.

Idk, I think playing Giannis straight-up and trying to take other stuff away is a viable strategy. If Giannis gets 50 but everybody else has a below average game, I think BOS has a good chance. At the least it would be surprising and force us to react/adjust. I could see them winning a game off this.

ETA, who else, besides MIddleton, can win consistently 1-on-1 in your opinion? Bledsoe has to win going to the basket, Lopez has to win by posting up on a mismatch, Niko I guess can shoot over their wings, but I don't want him to shoot 3s when guarded tightly lol

[WRau1]

Celtics fans think that Giannis is the only Bucks capable of winning a 1 on 1 matchup, thus let him have his and lock the others down. God, I hope they try that.

Idk, I think playing Giannis straight-up and trying to take other stuff away is a viable strategy. If Giannis gets 50 but everybody else has a below average game, I think BOS has a good chance. At the least it would be surprising and force us to react/adjust. I could see them winning a game off this.

ETA, who else, besides MIddleton, can win consistently 1-on-1 in your opinion? Bledsoe has to win going to the basket, Lopez has to win by posting up on a mismatch, Niko I guess can shoot over their wings, but I don't want him to shoot 3s when guarded tightly lol

Middleton, Bledsoe and Lopez are definitely capable of it and any 2 from our bench on any given night. The problem with letting Giannis get his is that he will get it all in the paint and at the line. If he goes for 40, you need average games from 4 other guys to easily win.

[Pachinko_]

Defending Giannis 1-1 is suicidal.

There's only been three proven ways to guard Giannis with some success:

1) The OKC way: assemble a crew of long athletic guys that look as close as possible to Giannis (Grant/PG/Noel), add a monster of a C like Adams, and keep two of them on Giannis when he gets anywhere near the basket. Assume a low defensive stance to try to keep him out of dunking distance, don't foul, and when he tries a lay up or hook shot go straight up and try to block him.
In other words just play good, honest D and try to collectively out-physical him. No trickery.
Chances of success: average to good (see away game @ OKC this year)
Disadvantages: you need those type of lengthy athletic defenders that Boston obviously doesn't have.

2) Boston series game 1: Get back on D super fast, I mean everybody literally sprint back every time, and set your D up. Pick up Giannis close to mid court with a big guy who can move a little (Horford). Add a big wing on each side with their arms open, focusing mainly on Giannis and sagging a little bit off the players they're guarding. When Giannis sees that wall he will likely pass the ball, and that's already a small victory. Eventually Giannis will try to split that wall (usually from the right), which makes him vulnerable to swipes from the left wing. Failing the swipe the left wing follows him all the way to the rim along with Horford, swiping and hacking throughout. Horford keeps and arm on him at all times to kill his momentum and making his second step very slow.
Chances of success: average, Giannis will probably still rape you eventually.
Disadvantages: very physically taxing for the D. Not sure if Boston can actually do it for many games, which is maybe why they gave up on it after G1. Also, you open yourself up to many foul calls depending on the typical NBA ref's bipolar mood swings.

3) The fainting goat. Just fall down man, as soon as he gets anywhere near you, just faint. Convulsions, involuntary spasms and pissing yourself also help.
Chances of success: small, it's a pretty desperate move.
Disadvantages: none, it's also very funny to watch

[emunney]

Reading through the Celtics game 4 thread and all of them want the Celtics to play Giannis straight up 1 on 1. That’s the big adjustment they want.

Is it possible the Celtics would do that?

That would be awesome.

Haha amazing

[thomchatt3rton]

Celtics fans think that Giannis is the only Bucks capable of winning a 1 on 1 matchup, thus let him have his and lock the others down. God, I hope they try that.

Idk, I think playing Giannis straight-up and trying to take other stuff away is a viable strategy. If Giannis gets 50 but everybody else has a below average game, I think BOS has a good chance. At the least it would be surprising and force us to react/adjust. I could see them winning a game off this.

ETA, who else, besides MIddleton, can win consistently 1-on-1 in your opinion? Bledsoe has to win going to the basket, Lopez has to win by posting up on a mismatch, Niko I guess can shoot over their wings, but I don't want him to shoot 3s when guarded tightly lol

Middleton, Bledsoe and Lopez are definitely capable of it and any 2 from our bench on any given night. The problem with letting Giannis get his is that he will get it all in the paint and at the line. If he goes for 40, you need average games from 4 other guys to easily win.

If I'm BOS, at this point, I might take my chances on this strategy. Could it backfire? Absolutely. The main issue is you'd have to cycle guys in and out so nobody guarding Giannis got in too much foul trouble too early, and there's a major downside to that on both ends of the floor for BOS. Imagine Horford getting 2 or 3 quick fouls early on...

But if you could find a way to guard Giannis without fouling him at the rim*, and just let him score a bit. It could work.

* What I mean is discourage him from attacking, trying to take away his "starting" spots with hedges/stunts etc.

[Ayt]

Reading through the Celtics game 4 thread and all of them want the Celtics to play Giannis straight up 1 on 1. That’s the big adjustment they want.

Is it possible the Celtics would do that?

That would be awesome.

Giannis dropping 50+ in Boston is fine with me.

[thomchatt3rton]

Reading through the Celtics game 4 thread and all of them want the Celtics to play Giannis straight up 1 on 1. That’s the big adjustment they want.

Is it possible the Celtics would do that?

That would be awesome.

Giannis dropping 50+ in Boston is fine with me.

Depends on how well they play D on everybody else.

[th87]

Game 4:

- Refs will allow tackling Giannis and will probably call offensive fouls if he gets into extended post-ups; he'll want to pass to an open shooter if he doesn't have an immediate path to the basket. Hope they're ready.
- I'm betting they bring Smart back. Need to weather the energy.

[TaterTots]

**** it

we win by 20 on monday

this series is over

[TaterTots]

remember meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

and yes this is going to give away who i am to some people. what up.

[MelbourneBuck]

1 on 1 vs Giannis is extremely dangerous so I doubt they go that way. He's too efficient for that strategy to be successful very often. You'd need a great offensive performance to keep up and Boston don't look capable of it.

[Cythaps]

They can't guard Yannis 1 on 1, not because he'll probably get 50, but because he'll get all their bigs in foul trouble pretty early and that will mess their offense up completely. Plus, it's not like the rest of the Bucks are especially better shooters when open than when shooting with a hand in their face.

Stan Van Gundy said in a Lowe podcast that since Giannis is almost .750 under the basket and .710 from the line, it makes sense to foul him hard every time he gets there. That's what the Celtics are doing. Crying about it is just a strategy to avoid a couple being called, if possible.