Bucks @ Nets: Game 7 - Sat. June 19 @ 8:30 PM - TNT

[Gooner]

I expect Marks to reshape this roster around the Big 3 in a much better fashion this summer. We need depth at PG, a wing defender, and another big man. Jordan has to go. I would hope we can retain Green, Blake, and Brown.

If Joe gets shipped out I'm fine with that. I'm fine if we keep him as well. But he let the team down on both ends and it will take a lot to repair that trust.

Nash is a terrible coach, but I thought for a game 7 he made the right moves in terms of our offensive strategy and defensively. We just ran out of gas. That being said, Marks needs to think long and hard about giving this guy the keys to this ship again.

I have no respect for Giannis. None. He's a dirty player and if he gets injured in the next round I will be glad. **** him.

Karma is a bitch, Giannis will pay the price at some point, it's just the way it goes.

[MrDollarBills]

Anyway, great series. I couldn’t watch it all live because it was literally too intense for my nerves. KD was on another level. This was just a great, super hard fought series. Was very impressed by Brooklyn’s defense throughout the series. Hopefully Nash comes back a little better next year and you guys are healthy.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Giannis is a dirty player and I hope karma comes for his ankles or ACL sooner than later.

[NyCeEvO]

lack of defenders/bigs did not even come close to hurting us this series.

our defense this series bordered on elite. We held the highest scoring and 5th most efficient offense to nothing all series. our defense was great.

I don’t think the Bucks played as well as they should have. I’m not going to get excited about what we “held” them too, because I don’t feel like we truly clamped them.

Plus, while our playoff defense was certain better than our regular season defense, I think the Bucks playoff offense is worse than their regular season offense.

From my perspective, they could’ve been way more cerebral, especially after Kyrie went down. For whatever reason they weren’t and I personally don’t feel like it was due to us defending so well that we just made them shoot worse offensively.

That’s just how I feel. I’m sure you feel differently though.

That's who the Bucks are though... We've got what 3-4 years now of them showing their real colors?

Yeah. They’ve gotten marginally better every postseason under Bud, but IMO they don’t meet the expectations most people have for them.

[gigantes]

Giannis has the ugliest game of any star I have seen. The refs/league let him get away with so much. He initiates all contact. Should be called for many more offensive fouls. He'll his last bucket was a clear hook.

Giannis was awful this series. terrible defense, was scared to defend durant, airballed free throws, bricks jumpers, awful charges, 100 uncalled travels and the bucks offense was terrible this series

Prokorov-you had many great posts on the bucks board and even told us the key stat to look for to determine whether the Nets would win (turnovers). But you lose any credibility claiming Giannis is a dirty player (everyone in the league knows he isn't and never has been)...

I could see if it was an isolated incident with Kyrie, but it sure does look like Giannis pulls this shizzle on a regular basis:

Watch on YouTube

So... gamesmanship is one thing, like his ridiculous free throw preparation that he's gotten the refs to go along with over the years, but Giannis has pretty clearly learned how to invade other players' space who are up in the air, then pivot & look away as if it's just 'accidental contact' when the player inevitably lands on him.

It's sneaky and clever, and I almost give him props for that, but it also causes other players injury risks, which is why it's a dirty-dog move IMO.

[NyCeEvO]

I don’t think the Bucks played as well as they should have. I’m not going to get excited about what we “held” them too, because I don’t feel like we truly clamped them.

Their PPG, oRTG, TS% from this series would havd all ranked dead last. you can say we didnt clamp them if you want, but our defense was nowhere even remotely close to an issue this series

Plus, while our playoff defense was certain better than our regular season defense, I think the Bucks playoff offense is worse than their regular season offense.

it was great vs miami

The regular season and postseason are composed completely differently.

In the regular season, you face all other 29 teams and usually face a different opponent each night. Title contenders have the opportunity to destroy bad teams for half of their schedule but the stats are all compiled the same for the duration of the season.

Plus, the regular season moves too quickly for teams to develop and tailor defensive schemes for each opponent. The goal is to mainly play the style of basketball your team is good at and make a few simple defensive changes for each opponent, if necessary.

In the playoffs, you face better competition over the course of 7-game series. Teams now have time to implement strategies to thwart the best players and/or tactics of the opposition.

Playoff pace is not only slower, but the competition gets even harder as you go along.

Comparing regular season stats for any team to their postseason production is comparing apples to oranges, since they’re not a similar style of competition. At best, you can regular season stats to identify what a team is good at, but I’m sure if you compare most teams postseason numbers to their regular season numbers, everyone will probably score less points (due to slower pace and better defenses) and be less less efficient.

[Sharcm1]

Giannis also tried to take out harden on a three in this game. He went under him just like Irving.

[ArksNetsSince99]

I got huge hangover this morning, i clearly drunk way to much Joe **** Harris last night , i blackout and all i can remember is Kevin Durant sitting tired , breathing heavily with 0.3 seconds , and Kai hand on his arm,Harden walking down the tunnel even before last whistle and idk why but i gotta feeling its calm before a huge storm , lots of changes coming, just lets hope is for the better not for worse

[Karate Diop]

Giannis also tried to take out harden on a three in this game. He went under him just like Irving.

Didn't see this one, have a link? But I wouldn't be surprised, he knows the league won't punish him so he continues to do these kind of things.

[TroubleS0me]

The irony of Brook Lopez beating you guys...

[Karate Diop]

The irony of Brook Lopez beating you guys...

Brook has always been a good paint defender, but it wasn't so much Brook as it was untimely injuries that undid the Nets...

[gigantes]

I have to agree that Harris' struggles this series is almost entirely on Steve Nash (and staff).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Joe averages about 30-31mpg, and when he's pushed past that, he gets tired and loses efficiency. Maybe there's even an argument that 30-31mpg is a touch too much, and other players like TJ, Shamet etc should have been sharing that load.

By my math, Nash played him an average of 36mpg ([37+29+35+37+35+34+30+37+38+37+36+47] / 12) this playoffs, and that clearly seems beyond what his body can give.

Right-- I know that rotations get tightened in the playoffs, but some superhuman specimens like KD have the ability to soak up the extra minutes still performing at a near-peak, but everyone can't be like that. Joe's pretty consistently demonstrated across his career that he's just not one of those guys, and someone like Jacques Vaughn should have been able to get that through to Nash. So the real breakdown to me is "why didn't that happen?" and why did Nash think that giving Joe more minutes across the series was going to help?

It really makes me wonder how much Nash actually communicates with these guys and understands their strengths and weaknesses. Not to mention, forcing KD to do everything once Kyrie went out was a disaster waiting to happen IMO. It's almost a miracle to me that he and Harden didn't injure / reinjure themselves late in this series.

[BigO]

Giannis was awful this series. terrible defense, was scared to defend durant, airballed free throws, bricks jumpers, awful charges, 100 uncalled travels and the bucks offense was terrible this series

Prokorov-you had many great posts on the bucks board and even told us the key stat to look for to determine whether the Nets would win (turnovers). But you lose any credibility claiming Giannis is a dirty player (everyone in the league knows he isn't and never has been)...

I could see if it was an isolated incident with Kyrie, but it sure does look like Giannis pulls this shizzle on a regular basis:

Watch on YouTube

So... gamesmanship is one thing, like his ridiculous free throw preparation that he's gotten the refs to go along with over the years, but Giannis has pretty clearly learned how to invade other players' space who are up in the air, then pivot & look away as if it's just 'accidental contact' when the player inevitably lands on him.

It's sneaky and clever, and I almost give him props for that, but it also causes other players injury risks, which is why it's a dirty-dog move IMO.

The guy plays 8 seasons and that's all you got? Literally every player in the league who guards the perimeter, including all the Bucks players, are called for that foul now. Every example you have, except Kyrie, is on a three pointer. Guys in the league know who the
dirty players are.

Every fanbase exaggerates stuff (it's even worse on the Bucks board) so much that it takes away civil discussion. The Bucks board is filled with stuff about Harden and Durant flailing and falling on almost every shot they take in order get a call. They think the foul calls last night were ridiculously one sided for the Nets (I don't).

My view is that the Nets would have won this series without the injuries, but not because they have all the stars. The Bucks coach is a horrible playoff coach for a number of reasons and it took 2 injures to 2 of the Nets best players for the Bucks to eke it out. All the teams left are beatable, but none have as bad a coach as Bud.
And while Nash made some mistakes, he took an injury laden team to almost beating a fairly healthy and veteran team.

[Gooner]

Prokorov-you had many great posts on the bucks board and even told us the key stat to look for to determine whether the Nets would win (turnovers). But you lose any credibility claiming Giannis is a dirty player (everyone in the league knows he isn't and never has been)...

I could see if it was an isolated incident with Kyrie, but it sure does look like Giannis pulls this shizzle on a regular basis:

Watch on YouTube

So... gamesmanship is one thing, like his ridiculous free throw preparation that he's gotten the refs to go along with over the years, but Giannis has pretty clearly learned how to invade other players' space who are up in the air, then pivot & look away as if it's just 'accidental contact' when the player inevitably lands on him.

It's sneaky and clever, and I almost give him props for that, but it also causes other players injury risks, which is why it's a dirty-dog move IMO.

The guy plays 8 seasons and that's all you got? Literally every player in the league who guards the perimeter, including all the Bucks players, are called for that foul now. Every example you have, except Kyrie, is on a three pointer. Guys in the league know who the
dirty players are.

Every fanbase exaggerates stuff (it's even worse on the Bucks board) so much that it takes away civil discussion. The Bucks board is filled with stuff about Harden and Durant flailing and falling on almost every shot they take in order get a call. They think the foul calls last night were ridiculously one sided for the Nets (I don't).

My view is that the Nets would have won this series without the injuries, but not because they have all the stars. The Bucks coach is a horrible playoff coach for a number of reasons and it took 2 injures to 2 of the Nets best players for the Bucks to eke it out. All the teams left are beatable, but none have as bad a coach as Bud.
And while Nash made some mistakes, he took an injury laden team to almost beating a fairly healthy and veteran team.

Please explain what was Giannis doing on this play with Kyrie. He wasn't contesting the shot.

[NyCeEvO]

Our defense was outstanding, vs a really good offensive team... despite tons of injuries. im not worried about a wing defender, who nash wouldnt play anyhow. or size... which nash wouldnt play anyhow.

I definitely think we defended as well as could be hoped for, given our roster composition. My thoughts on the roster only take into account how I would orchestrate/coach the team. And you’re right, based on this season, Nash/MDA probably wouldn’t have played those type of guys, but I won’t be defeatist in my opinions just because I think Nash might not play them.

I’ve said it all season. I’ve never liked the idea of having a 32 (to be 33 year old) KD coming off Achilles being the one who is primarily responsible for defending the opposition’s best player as well as carrying the offensive load. That’s just asking for trouble IMO, especially as he ages.

Giannis is in his mid-20s and didn’t even have to defend KD. I would like for us to at least have the option to deploy a Tucker who can be thrown out there to simply try to stifle the opposing team’s best player as much as possible while KD only needs to provide weak side help and largely conserve his energy for offense.

For as great as this team was, I still think we could’ve been even better. I believer we can have a god-tier offense as well as a great defense and that we don’t have to sacrifice one for the other.

It’ll be interesting to see what moves are and aren’t made his offsesson. I can’t imagine DJ wanting to stay even if KD and Kyrie are here. And while I’m thankful the contributions of someone like Bruce Brown, I think he’s easily replaceable and even upgradable as he basically plays like a center/non-scoring big without having the size. I think there are a plethora of players out there who can take his minutes and actually serve as a better potential defender against someone like Middleton who’s already a good shooter np but isn’t even bothered in the slightest being defended by someone as short as Brown.

Interesting months lie ahead…

i dont expect many changes.

trade the pick for a win now guy like we did with shamet.

likely wont use the MLE, it woudl hard cap us.

a healthy dinwiddie, whatever we do with our pick, maybe a vet min ring chaser

I believe we have 9 free agents or players we have to decide on whether we want them back or not.

While the core of the team (I.e. the Big 3) won’t change, I think it’s very likely that half of these free agents won’t come back, either because we don’t want them back or they found better deals elsewhere.

I think Dinwiddie definitely opts out and tries to land on a team that will pay him considerably more and give him more PT. He’s a businessman; I’d be genuinely surprised if he stayed.

[Karate Diop]

Prokorov-you had many great posts on the bucks board and even told us the key stat to look for to determine whether the Nets would win (turnovers). But you lose any credibility claiming Giannis is a dirty player (everyone in the league knows he isn't and never has been)...

I could see if it was an isolated incident with Kyrie, but it sure does look like Giannis pulls this shizzle on a regular basis:

Watch on YouTube

So... gamesmanship is one thing, like his ridiculous free throw preparation that he's gotten the refs to go along with over the years, but Giannis has pretty clearly learned how to invade other players' space who are up in the air, then pivot & look away as if it's just 'accidental contact' when the player inevitably lands on him.

It's sneaky and clever, and I almost give him props for that, but it also causes other players injury risks, which is why it's a dirty-dog move IMO.

The guy plays 8 seasons and that's all you got? Literally every player in the league who guards the perimeter, including all the Bucks players, are called for that foul now. Every example you have, except Kyrie, is on a three pointer. Guys in the league know who the
dirty players are.

Every fanbase exaggerates stuff (it's even worse on the Bucks board) so much that it takes away civil discussion. The Bucks board is filled with stuff about Harden and Durant flailing and falling on almost every shot they take in order get a call. They think the foul calls last night were ridiculously one sided for the Nets (I don't).

My view is that the Nets would have won this series without the injuries, but not because they have all the stars. The Bucks coach is a horrible playoff coach for a number of reasons and it took 2 injures to 2 of the Nets best players for the Bucks to eke it out. All the teams left are beatable, but none have as bad a coach as Bud.
And while Nash made some mistakes, he took an injury laden team to almost beating a fairly healthy and veteran team.

It's not so much that Giannis is dirty as it is that he's emotional and loses his cool... That's not a regular basketball play plain and simple.

[MrDollarBills]

Giannis also tried to take out harden on a three in this game. He went under him just like Irving.

Yep. He gave him no room to land and Harden's foot actually landed on Giannis'. Dude is dirty as hell and at this point I'm not giving him the benefit of a doubt. That was intentional. I was so glad when Bruce Brown tossed his bitch ass into the stands

[MrDollarBills]

Prokorov-you had many great posts on the bucks board and even told us the key stat to look for to determine whether the Nets would win (turnovers). But you lose any credibility claiming Giannis is a dirty player (everyone in the league knows he isn't and never has been)...

I could see if it was an isolated incident with Kyrie, but it sure does look like Giannis pulls this shizzle on a regular basis:

Watch on YouTube

So... gamesmanship is one thing, like his ridiculous free throw preparation that he's gotten the refs to go along with over the years, but Giannis has pretty clearly learned how to invade other players' space who are up in the air, then pivot & look away as if it's just 'accidental contact' when the player inevitably lands on him.

It's sneaky and clever, and I almost give him props for that, but it also causes other players injury risks, which is why it's a dirty-dog move IMO.

The guy plays 8 seasons and that's all you got? Literally every player in the league who guards the perimeter, including all the Bucks players, are called for that foul now. Every example you have, except Kyrie, is on a three pointer. Guys in the league know who the
dirty players are.

Every fanbase exaggerates stuff (it's even worse on the Bucks board) so much that it takes away civil discussion. The Bucks board is filled with stuff about Harden and Durant flailing and falling on almost every shot they take in order get a call. They think the foul calls last night were ridiculously one sided for the Nets (I don't).

My view is that the Nets would have won this series without the injuries, but not because they have all the stars. The Bucks coach is a horrible playoff coach for a number of reasons and it took 2 injures to 2 of the Nets best players for the Bucks to eke it out. All the teams left are beatable, but none have as bad a coach as Bud.
And while Nash made some mistakes, he took an injury laden team to almost beating a fairly healthy and veteran team.

Giannis undercut Harden coming down on a three pointer last night. Stop trying to justify his dirty tactics. If our guys did that to yours you'd be pissed too

[MrDollarBills]

The irony of Brook Lopez beating you guys...

Yeah it's hilarious. Go KYS.

[gigantes]

The guy plays 8 seasons and that's all you got? ...

The Bucks board is filled with stuff about Harden and Durant flailing and falling on almost every shot they take in order get a call. They think the foul calls last night were ridiculously one sided for the Nets (I don't).

No, it seems like this is a dirty move he's locked in only in recent seasons. I don't remember him doing this kind of thing in the past, and if he did, there's no doubt in my mind he would have had a fairly nasty rep by now.

That said, player and league awareness will surely catch up to him on this stuff.

The difference between the gamesmanship of Harden flailing is that unlike Giannis he's not out there injuring people, and if the league does indeed crack down on flailing this offseason, you can be sure Beard will adjust accordingly.

Another example of a needless play by Giannis that could have caused injury is when Brown wrapped him up on a breakaway in the first half. Granted, Brown is a lot shorter, but the BBIQ move there would be to try to flip up some kind of a shot if possible. Instead, Giannis just stubbornly bulled towards the baseline, causing them both to tumble out of bounds. Just stupid and unnecessary to me, and another way to cause injury (even to himself) for no good reason.

[Evalar]

It seems like some people need to take a lesson from KD on how to accept defeat. You need to check yourselves wishing injuries on Giannis is low I thought this forum was for adults! Why are people trying to convince themselves that Giannis injured Kyrie on purpose it was just another unlucky break we caught this season. I understand emotions are high but do better.

Mistakes were made but no team plays a perfect game and i'm sure if the result was reversed the Bucks fans could pick apart all the mistakes they made and decisions they didn't get. There are no guarantee's so people convincing themselves that if we had done ABC we would have won are kidding themselves if it gives you comfort carry on but we will never know.

Personally i'm looking ahead to next season with players hopefully fully rested and healthy. Harden did his best and played when we needed him even though he was injured, KD got through his first season after injury and looked sublime, Kyrie is such a showman and I can watch him play all day, the emergence of Clax who will only be better next season so many positives happened this year but it just wasn't meant to be this time.

Good luck to the Bucks, it was some game 7 it really was a fight to the end and surely neither set of fans can ask more from their teams than that.