PG Philly - 4Th Quarter Switch Flipped - The Real MVP Steps Up

[BigO]

Thoughts:

1) Bucks won because of RIvers inexplicable benching of Embiid while Giannis went nuts. Horrible coaching.

2) I loved Bud's benching Allen and starting a defender at guard. It's his admission that the dfense has sucked for a long time and he needed another defender.

3) Having said that, the Bucks defense was still bad. Sixers shot over 48% and almost 40% on threes. Sixers are an average offensive team. I will spare everyone my analysis of what did and didn't work, except to say I didn't mind his doubling of Embiid and Harden.

4) Bud must have benched Carter because the plan was to do a lot of switching and he didn't want Carter on Harden.

5) Not sure why Ibaka didn't play much. The bench, other than Allen was pretty bad, although Portis in limited minutes still grabbed 5 rebounds.

Agree with some of your points, but the Sixers have been one of the best offenses in the league since acquiring Harden (when him and Embiid both play).

Harden has played in 15 games and the Sixers are 15th in the NBA in offensive efficiency in those 15 games. They are 13th over the whole season. So they are actually worse. Embiid has missed one of those games.

[emunney]

Thoughts:

1) Bucks won because of RIvers inexplicable benching of Embiid while Giannis went nuts. Horrible coaching.

2) I loved Bud's benching Allen and starting a defender at guard. It's his admission that the dfense has sucked for a long time and he needed another defender.

3) Having said that, the Bucks defense was still bad. Sixers shot over 48% and almost 40% on threes. Sixers are an average offensive team. I will spare everyone my analysis of what did and didn't work, except to say I didn't mind his doubling of Embiid and Harden.

4) Bud must have benched Carter because the plan was to do a lot of switching and he didn't want Carter on Harden.

5) Not sure why Ibaka didn't play much. The bench, other than Allen was pretty bad, although Portis in limited minutes still grabbed 5 rebounds.

I wouldn't call it inexplicable to sit Embiid -- he played almost 39 minutes and could barely jump on his last attempt. He could have matched his minutes with Giannis, and he could have gone to Reed (who defended Giannis well earlier in the season) instead of Millsap, who has been overmatched by Giannis for many years and is now 37.

[aboveAverage]

The Bucks are at the level now where the big three look scary locked in in 4th quarters. As long as we're healthy, I wouldn't take any team over us in a 7 game series. Just have to stay healthy, please.

And Giannis is incredible.

[Giannisland34]

The playoffs and a seven game series is a war of attrition. And we have two of the best at that in Holiday and Giannis.
Both Bud and Horst learned from the bubble year and have this team peaking at the right time again.
Let’s go!!! Bucks in six!!

[Pachinko_]

I think there are 6 teams roughly at the same level (I'm including Nets and Raptors because I think their regular season was misleading).

And objectively I'm picking the Bucks to get out of the East, and this is the first time I'm saying this in the Giannis era (hope I'm not jinxing anything). And I'm saying it because:

a) Our guys have been together a long time and have won one together and that gives a kind of confidence that matters in the POs. Never rattled, no psychological baggage from prior failures, never in a situation they haven't been before as a team and got out of successfully. Only Raps can say the same.

b) Every body healthy, every body rested. I know those were not real injuries when our big 3 were taking games off all year, and I just don't trust the health and durability of the KDs/Hardens/Embiids/Kyries of this world. Giannis had half a can of beer all his life, those other guys have probably smoked half a shipping container from Morocco. Which I have nothing against, but when you get to the 100th game of the season things start to matter, KD could not lift his arms to shoot in OT of game 7. Which brings me to the next point.

c) We'll probably have the best player in any series. Even in last year's series Vs Nets I thought Giannis was better than KD because sorry, I can't count defence as anything less than 50% of the game. I just can't. Sometimes Giannis has those flashy game winning blocks that make every idiot notice how important defence is, sometimes he doesn't, but his D is always there. Always.

d) Technically our O has been great all year, our D has been bad. And that will change shortly because of intensity, I just know it. Jrue and Giannis will leave their bones on the floor.

It's not a gimme but we are really well placed at the mo.
All you can ask for, and knocking wood for health as always.

[TroyD92]

I think we are going to see a very different team in the playoffs (more akin to the crunch time team we've seen).

[blazza18]

I think Embiid's right that he's got to be on the court when Giannis is, but I don't think he's fully internalized what that means for him when Giannis is on the floor damn near the whole game in the playoffs.

I assume Doc will match minutes more as well as have Embiid defend Giannis but I'm not sure the Sixers want anything to do with that in a series. Giannis would wear him down even more than he usually does in a series that goes past 4 games.

[Jez2983]

I think Embiid's right that he's got to be on the court when Giannis is, but I don't think he's fully internalized what that means for him when Giannis is on the floor damn near the whole game in the playoffs.

I assume Doc will match minutes more as well as have Embiid defend Giannis but I'm not sure the Sixers want anything to do with that in a series. Giannis would wear him down even more than he usually does in a series that goes past 4 games.

Embiid will likely get injured when he has to put in on both ends on every play in the playoffs. And if he doesn't get injured, as people have discussed in this thread he is going to be gassed in the 4th.

It's incredible how Giannis is now finishing games, it may even be one of the reasons our thirds are so bad, because he's saving himself for the end. This isnt the Giannis who died in the 4th of the Raps series from a few years ago.

[Chad34]

I think Embiid's right that he's got to be on the court when Giannis is, but I don't think he's fully internalized what that means for him when Giannis is on the floor damn near the whole game in the playoffs.

I assume Doc will match minutes more as well as have Embiid defend Giannis but I'm not sure the Sixers want anything to do with that in a series. Giannis would wear him down even more than he usually does in a series that goes past 4 games.

Embiid will likely get injured when he has to put in on both ends on every play in the playoffs. And if he doesn't get injured, as people have discussed in this thread he is going to be gassed in the 4th.

It's incredible how Giannis is now finishing games, it may even be one of the reasons our thirds are so bad, because he's saving himself for the end. This isnt the Giannis who died in the 4th of the Raps series from a few years ago.

I don't know the exact numbers but it seems like we're doing better winning third quarters since brook came back to the starting lineup, and especially when everyone plays

[emunney]

I think Embiid's right that he's got to be on the court when Giannis is, but I don't think he's fully internalized what that means for him when Giannis is on the floor damn near the whole game in the playoffs.

I assume Doc will match minutes more as well as have Embiid defend Giannis but I'm not sure the Sixers want anything to do with that in a series. Giannis would wear him down even more than he usually does in a series that goes past 4 games.

I think the move is match minutes AND play Reed as many minutes as he can handle and hope it takes Giannis more than one game to solve it.

[Pachinko_]

I think Embiid's right that he's got to be on the court when Giannis is, but I don't think he's fully internalized what that means for him when Giannis is on the floor damn near the whole game in the playoffs.

I assume Doc will match minutes more as well as have Embiid defend Giannis but I'm not sure the Sixers want anything to do with that in a series. Giannis would wear him down even more than he usually does in a series that goes past 4 games.

I think the move is match minutes AND play Reed as many minutes as he can handle and hope it takes Giannis more than one game to solve it.

Yeah but this is not 2019 Giannis who couldn't pass out of double teams. Nowadays he sees it a mile away and although he's still not an accurate passer he is at least a good decision maker. Bud's staff gave him that.