Suns @ Bucks Sunday Finals game thread 7-11-2021 - Game 3

[Finito]

Relax this team has been here before and us winning a championship ain’t going to be because Dario played or didn’t play. Let’s not act like people here weren’t pulling there hair out when he was in there.

that’s a ridiculous take.

Remember when we got beat down by the Lakers in game 3 and they were dancing and acting a fool?

or how bout when the Clippers blew us out in game 3 and we’re blowing kisses to the home crowd laughing it up?

we will make adjustments and play more aggressive. There was no attacking the basket there was no gang rebounding there was just no hustle or urgency.

did you think we were just going to sweep the Bucks? Like they would just accept defeat and go quietly in the night?

 

[Finito]

Waking up this morning I now realize that we wasted one of Jaes hot games in a loss.

Depressing.

If we don't make shots..... We don't win.

I would like to add to this.

if we don’t score more points than the other team we will lose.

 

[Covert Rain]

Pretty much the only highlight of the game but how sweet it was.

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[Bufalay]

Giannis was guarded by Ayton 34% of the game. Any ideas how many points he scored during that time? One! He had 40 points against all other Suns players. What a coincidence that Ayton got into foul trouble for the first time ever in a pivotal finals game.

 

[Bufalay]

Here's Ayton's 3rd foul called at the end of the second quarter by Foster. Didn't look like much.

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[Cheesebeef]

Remember this post during the Cards season lol

Yeah... here’s the difference in my attitude between the Cards and Suns. The Suns are in the NBA Finals and have proved themselves worthy of belief. The Cardinals have sucked for years and thus deserve people trashing them until they do something worth praise like this Suns team.

what Id like is for posters like you to remember my posts here instead of trashing me as “always” negative or a bad fan. When a team DESERVES credit, I am always first in line to give it. When they deserve scorn, I’ll do that just as loud.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Ayton has concrete hands. Paul, for all the good he brings to the team, clearly is a player out of control a portion of the time. I expected the loss, but this was terrilby embarassing.

I played ten years of organized bascketball in school and later in industrial league, all from 1960 to 1970. What a different game is was then. You really couldn't stay in the paint more than 3 seconds. You didn't get 5 steps before they called traveling. It was a much more defined team sport at all levels of play.

It's difficult for me to watch now. The "star calls" are sickening and detrimental to the game. There seems to be little to no sense in how refs call the game (a guy gets slaughtered one time and they call nothing, and a brush of bodies gets a whistle the next). I see plays that would have got me or any other player ****** off the flloor for (can't remember who our player was, but on a fast break, with him leading the way, stopped and took a 25 foot jump shot (and missed) with 3 opposing players, and only them, under/around the basket. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect anyone to run out the shot clock running a 5 man weave, but I would enjoy watching a bit more team playing.

Just the rantings of an old guy who played.... and watched.... a very different game. The handful of super dunks and acrobatics in a game are exciting, but I'd much rather watch the team execute 10 crisp passes with screens for a score.

Just me.

The Booker offensive foul call on Connaughton was embarrassingly bad. Obvious defensive foul.

And watching Giannis travel probably 5 or 6 times this series and not a single call. It's exceedingly rare that a guy can pick up the ball at the three pointish line and take it to the hoop on two to three steps.

At the end of the day, the Suns still sucked against a desperate team. The energy level from the Bucks was on a whole level greater than the energy level of the Suns. The Suns can't come out in game 4 and play like they did in game 3 and expect to win.

 

[Cheesebeef]

This is the key to the rest of the series. Again, having Dario would’ve taken some of this immense load and pressure off of DA. So now, Monty and the rest of the coaches, as well as all of the starters, are going to have to come up with strategies combined with flawless execution, in order to offset the clear advantage the Bucks have in the paint. Giannis will continue to dominate as there really isn’t much we can about that. Especially since the refs clearly enable him…
IMO, the Suns’ chances take a massive blow when we aren’t hitting 3’s (can’t be just one guy - like Crowder), not hitting mid-range shots (Book), and allowing Holiday and Middleton to set up picnics and comfortably make their shots.
I just don’t see any other way to offset the Bucks’ clear advantage down low, scoring and rebounding on both ends…

lol... as I was scrolling up, I only needed to read the last sentence of this post to realize it was from Captain Depends again.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Waking up this morning I now realize that we wasted one of Jaes hot games in a loss.

Depressing.

If we don't make shots..... We don't win.

was saying that to Ouchie during the game last night.

 

[Hoop Head]

Giannis was guarded by Ayton 34% of the game. Any ideas how many points he scored during that time? One! He had 40 points against all other Suns players. What a coincidence that Ayton got into foul trouble for the first time ever in a pivotal finals game.

Ayton needs to do a better job of not picking up fouls. He's vital to our defense, no one denies that. If he's not out there to help slow down Giannis though then he's responsible for more than just 2 of Giannis' points.

 

[Bufalay]

Ayton needs to do a better job of not picking up fouls. He's vital to our defense, no one denies that. If he's not out there to help slow down Giannis though then he's responsible for more than just 2 of Giannis' points.

The only obvious foul he had was the 4th against Giannis at the start of the 3rd. He played the same physical defense against Jokic and never got into foul trouble. He could just let Giannis score I guess. It all really depends on how the refs decide to call the game which is pretty lame.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Giannis was guarded by Ayton 34% of the game. Any ideas how many points he scored during that time? One! He had 40 points against all other Suns players. What a coincidence that Ayton got into foul trouble for the first time ever in a pivotal finals game.

That’s a pretty stunning stat if true.

 

[Hoop Head]

The only obvious foul he had was the 4th against Giannis at the start of the 3rd. He played the same physical defense against Jokic and never got into foul trouble. He could just let Giannis score I guess. It all really depends on how the refs decide to call the game which is pretty lame.

It sucks for sure but Ayton should realize early on what sort of contact will be called and what will be allowed. Its not his first time playing with certain refs. He's got to do a better job controlling himself when there are refs who are looking to whistle him for anything.

I haven't rewatched the game or sought out his fouls but there wasn't a foul call on him last night that surprised me or I thought was completely unwarranted. That's not saying there weren't time I felt the Bucks committed similar plays and weren't whistled but that's part of home court advantage in the NBA, unfortunately.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

It sucks for sure but Ayton should realize early on what sort of contact will be called and what will be allowed. Its not his first time playing with certain refs. He's got to do a better job controlling himself when there are refs who are looking to whistle him for anything.

I haven't rewatched the game or sought out his fouls but there wasn't a foul call on him last night that surprised me or I thought was completely unwarranted. That's not saying there weren't time I felt the Bucks committed similar plays and weren't whistled but that's part of home court advantage in the NBA, unfortunately.

This. And ultimately, even when they call things unevenly, you can’t control that you can only control your play. Hopefully yesterday was a good learning lesson for Ayton.

 

[Cheesebeef]

It sucks for sure but Ayton should realize early on what sort of contact will be called and what will be allowed. Its not his first time playing with certain refs. He's got to do a better job controlling himself when there are refs who are looking to whistle him for anything.

I haven't rewatched the game or sought out his fouls but there wasn't a foul call on him last night that surprised me or I thought was completely unwarranted. That's not saying there weren't time I felt the Bucks committed similar plays and weren't whistled but that's part of home court advantage in the NBA, unfortunately.

yup. There was maybe one call I thought was questionable on Ayton but didn’t have an issue with the others.

 

[Bufalay]

That’s a pretty stunning stat if true.

haha, I didn't make it up.

Phoenix Suns vs Milwaukee Bucks Jul 11, 2021 Box Scores

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[Covert Rain]

That’s a pretty stunning stat if true.

Legler called this after Game 2 that the Bucks have to get Ayton off the floor and go after him in game 3. Makes total sense. If Ayton is off the floor the defense drops and so does rebounding. Not sure what the Suns can do except start playing help defense whenever Giannis touches the ball. The Refs are not going to help us keep Ayton out of foul trouble. Some of those calls against him were beyond weak. He played Giannis no more physical than Jokic but Giannis is getting the star treatment IMO. I am not saying none of those were legit fouls but the calls have been wildly inconsistent.

 

[Bufalay]

yup. There was maybe one call I thought was questionable on Ayton but didn’t have an issue with the others.

All it takes is one. One foul kept him out for the entire 3rd quarter.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Legler called this after Game 2 that the Bucks have to get Ayton off the floor and go after him in game 3. Makes total sense. If Ayton is off the floor the defense drops and so does rebounding. Not sure what the Suns can do except start playing help defense whenever Giannis touches the ball. The Refs are not going to help us keep Ayton out of foul trouble. Some of those calls against him were beyond weak. He played Giannis no more physical than Jokic but Giannis is getting the star treatment IMO. I am not saying none of those were legit fouls but the calls have been wildly inconsistent.

There’s a broad difference between the physical contact against a slow moving jokic and a flying giannis.

 

[Cheesebeef]

There’s a broad difference between the physical contact against a slow moving jokic and a flying giannis.

agreed.

 

[Covert Rain]

There’s a broad difference between the physical contact against a slow moving jokic and a flying giannis.

No doubt. That's not what I am talking about. Go back and watch the 3 games. Ayton is getting called bodying up Giannis no differently than he did Jokic on the block. I am not talking whatsoever about Giannis going downhill. Even last night the commentators were questioning a couple calls where Ayton bodies up against Giannis and got called. They said that's no different than Ayton has been playing the entire playoffs.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Giannis was guarded by Ayton 34% of the game. Any ideas how many points he scored during that time? One! He had 40 points against all other Suns players. What a coincidence that Ayton got into foul trouble for the first time ever in a pivotal finals game.

Which illustrates the point I've been making...that the absence of Saric is huge here. We literally don't have a single body, outside of DA, who can pose even the slightest bit of resistance to Giannis. Saric was able to slow Giannis down and keep him - not 100% but consistently enough - from steam-rolling to the hoop.
Additionally, this problem is magnified 10-fold (that's for you @cheesebeef), when Giannis drives and our defense has collapsed on/around him, and he simply dishes to the wide-open Portis/Middleton under the hoop for an easy deuce.

 

[Covert Rain]

Which illustrates the point I've been making...that the absence of Saric is huge here. We literally don't have a single body, outside of DA, who can pose even the slightest bit of resistance to Giannis. Saric was able to slow Giannis down and keep him - not 100% but consistently enough - from steam-rolling to the hoop.
Additionally, this problem is magnified 10-fold (that's for you @cheesebeef), when Giannis drives and our defense has collapsed on/around him, and he simply dishes to the wide-open Portis/Middleton under the hoop for an easy deuce.

Dario got hurt within 2 minutes into his entry in the game. He was on Lopez and Crowder was on Giannis. When did he slow Giannis down?

 

[Bufalay]

Dario got hurt within 2 minutes into his entry in the game. He was on Lopez and Crowder was on Giannis. When did he slow Giannis down?

I don't understand anyone arguing that Saric wouldn't help. He can't guard Giannis one-on-one, but he can box out when Ayton sits. No one else on the team can do that.

 

[Covert Rain]

I don't understand anyone arguing that Saric wouldn't help. He can't guard Giannis one-on-one, but he can box out when Ayton sits. No one else on the team can do that.

Nobody is saying he can't help. I would rather have him. However, people are vastly overstating his presence or contribution on the court. There is a reason Monty has cut his minutes in half in the playoffs. He is simply a bad matchup for most athletic players.