NBA Finals Preview: How the Bucks can Bounce Back in Game 2

(Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports)

The Milwaukee Bucks had a rough Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Coming into the game, it was up in the air whether their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, would even make an appearance. Giannis ended up playing, and even looked like his dominant self at times, but wasn’t enough to get them over the hump. Giannis’ right hand man Khris Middleton was good for stretches of the game, but in true Middleton form, wasn’t able to string together 4 quarters of consistent offense. Their 3rd star, Jrue Holiday, was virtually invisible on the offensive side of the ball. With all this being said, it wasn’t a massive blowout. The Bucks played with solid energy in the 2nd half and cut the Suns lead to 7 in the 4th. So what does Milwaukee have to do to avoid another wire to wire defeat?

#1: Wake up Jrue Holiday!

(slamonline.com)

As I just mentioned, Jrue Holiday has not been nearly what the Bucks expected from him heading into this series. Milwaukee traded 3 first round picks for this man during the offseason. This fact has made some Bucks fans a bit nervous about the future after watching Jrue in the Playoffs. Holiday shot 4-14 from the field and 0-4 from 3 in his 39 minutes during Game 1. He's had moments where he looks completely lackadaisical with the ball. Fans could argue, “Give the man a break, he butters his bread on defense.” Sadly, Holiday was an abysmal -16 on plus/minus and secured a very lackluster 121 defensive rating. Yes, none of the Bucks could get stops and this probably hurt his defensive rating, but -16 is straight up bad for a borderline All-Star caliber player. Holiday was awesome against the Hawks in the last round and was huge in Game 7 over Brooklyn, so it’s possible for him to wake up. He has to do it quickly if the Bucks want to steal a win in Phoenix.

#2: Giannis Needs to Play Play!

(Chris Cuduto/Getty)

I’m not sure if Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer was worried about Giannis’ injury, but “The Greek Freak” only clocked 35 minutes in Game 1. The best player on your team and 2x MVP needs to play more than that, especially if you are losing. Despite the injury, Giannis’ impact was felt on both sides of the ball throughout the first half. He looked healthy enough to play and be pushed on the court. With that being said, not all of this blame should be put on Coach Bud’s shoulders. Giannis came out super aggressive in the first quarter, going 3-4 and scoring 8 points in the opening frame. After this, he played tentative and his impact fell off on both sides. The Bucks offense was The Khris Middleton Show for the last 3 quarters of the game. I’m no expert, but that’s not enough firepower to win a Finals game. Giannis would finish the game with 20 points on only 11 shots. We saw Giannis bully the Suns defense on a couple occasions in the first half, but he never showed this type of aggression for the rest of the game. He should be shooting the ball 20-25 times a game. Jrue Holiday should not be taking more shots than Giannis if the Bucks want to win! If The Greek Freak wakes up, the Bucks should be fine. But hey, at least we got one of the best blocks I’ve seen in the past 10 years. That was sick!

#1: Figure out CP3 Before he Figures You Out

(Ross D. Franklin/AP)

Chris Paul had the Bucks defense begging for mercy by the end of Game 1. Paul dropped an efficient 32 points and 9 assists on Milwaukee. CP3 shot 12-19 from the field and carved up the Bucks switch heavy defense. Paul would dissect the Bucks defense and pick his defender on every possession. He torched the Bucks with midrange jumpers when they played drop pick and roll defense and if a big man would step forward to Paul, a lob to his big man would be an easy bucket. Even when the Bucks would hedge screens and double team Paul, he found the open man faster than the anyone could react. The Bucks have to make CP3 uncomfortable from the start. Jrue Holiday and PJ Tucker should be in his shirt the entire game. If they get in foul trouble, Bucks energy players like Thanasis Antetokounmpo shouldn’t be afraid to use some of their fouls. If you let the Point God get comfy, he’s going to pick you apart. The Bucks have to out-energy and outsmart CP3 in Game 2.