After a bizarre and unpredictable NBA playoffs, only the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns remain, both ready to rewrite their forgettable history and claim a long awaited championship trophy. The Bucks have been waiting over 50 years for this moment, while the Suns have dreamt of the trophy since their formation in 1968. Both teams are ready to seize their opportunity and bring glory to their fanbases, but only can after one more painstaking series. Let’s take a deeper dive into how the teams got here and what they need to do to win the 2021 NBA Finals.
Despite dominating each of the series they’ve played in thus far, the Suns’ playoffs started in peril. After an unlucky series of events, the Suns were forced to face the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, led by Lebron James and Anthony Davis. Even with their two stars hobbled, the Lakers were able to jump out to a 2-1 lead after strong defensive performances. Unfortunately for them, Davis went down in Game 4 and wasn’t able to return again in the series. This allowed the Suns to rattle off three straight wins to win the series 4-2 and knock off the defending champions. In the next round of the playoffs, they went up against league MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. After four dominant showings from the Suns, with big games from Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton, Phoenix was able to sweep the Nuggets and moved on to face the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Finals. However, the Clippers would be without their main star Kawhi Leonard due to a knee injury that forced him out of Game 4 in the Clippers’ previous series against the Utah Jazz. Due to this injury, the Suns were seen as clear favorites, until they had some injury trouble of their own. Chris Paul, the Suns’ star point guard, was in violation of COVID protocols and was forced to miss the first two games of the series. Despite the crucial loss, the Suns were still able to take the first two games against the injured Clippers side on the back of Booker, Ayton, and Cameron Payne. With Chris Paul back in the lineup for Game 3, the series was considered to be over. However, the Clippers and Suns then went on to battle out the next three games, with the Clippers winning Game 3 and Game 5 after subpar showings from the Suns and Paul. With the series at 3-2 in favor of the Suns, the Clippers were eyeing a Game 6 win in order to force a crucial Game 7 that would decide the series. Their hopes were shattered by Paul after a historic 41 point, 8 assist game that proved that he was among the great point guards of all time. With a 130-103 win, the Suns were able to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals.
The road to the finals for the Bucks was anything but easy. After a dominant sweep of the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs, the Bucks were put up against the Brooklyn Nets, a seemingly unbeatable super team that had Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, not to mention other all stars and key role players. Luckily for the Bucks, Harden was injured just a minute into the first game of the series, a theme that has repeated itself for much of these playoffs. Despite the injury, the Bucks were in early trouble as they went down 0-2 after two games of the series. Unable to stop Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving, the Bucks shifted to the other Nets players and held them to a mere 31 points, something they would replicate for the rest of the series. Using this strategy, they were able to win 3 of the next 4 games and force a series clinching game 7. The only difference, Irving had gone down in Game 4 and wasn’t able to play. In his place, a hobbled Harden returned to try and save the Nets from elimination. Unfortunately, he and Durant weren’t able to do enough as the resilient Bucks won in overtime after a dominant performance from their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo. After a quick turnaround, the Bucks were tasked with stopping the Atlanta Hawks, a young, offensive-minded team, in the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite being heavy favorites, the Bucks lost Game 1 due to a historic performance from the Hawks’ breakout point guard Trae Young. After assessing and revising their defensive strategy, the Bucks followed their loss with a dominant Game 2 win and a comfortable Game 3 win. After sustaining a bone bruise in Game 3, Young was declared out for Game 4. When it seemed that they were destined to put away the Hawks, Antetokounmpo went down with an injury, allowing the Hawks to win Game 4 and even the series at 2-2. With no Antetokounmpo or Young, the series had flipped on its head. After a dominant Game 4, the Hawks became the favorites to win the series and book their ticket to the NBA Finals. Despite the changed narrative, the Bucks were still able to dominate Game 5 behind a Giannis-like performance from center Brook Lopez. They followed the game up with another convincing win in Game 6, led by an attacking Jrue Holiday and a sharp shooting Kris Middleton, that allowed them to win the series and clinch their spot in the NBA Finals.
Having already played twice this season, it is clear that these two teams are somewhat familiar with each other. Despite both games going to the Suns, these teams are evenly matched given that each game was decided by a single point. However, given that Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ star player, may be out, the complexion of the series changes drastically. In order to prevail, the Bucks will need to rely on more Giannis-esque performances from Brook Lopez along with lock down defense from everyone on the floor. The key matchup in this game is Jrue Holiday vs Chris Paul. If Holiday is able to slow Paul down even slightly, the Bucks will have a great chance of winning this NBA Finals series. On the other hand, the Suns must focus on utilizing all of their playmakers. Each time they have beaten the Bucks this season, they have needed their role players to step up greatly. They will need 5-6 players in double figure points if they want to replicate their success against the Bucks from the regular season. Another major part of this game will be Devin Booker vs PJ Tucker. Booker has transcended into a superstar in these playoffs, and he will need to continue performing at such a level against the scrappy PJ Tucker. If Booker is able to dominate this matchup, there is a high chance that the Suns will be able to put up big points at a rate that Milwaukee will not be able to keep up with. However, if Tucker is able to slow Booker down, the Bucks will be able to control the pace of the game and win low scoring games like they did against the superstar filled Brooklyn Nets.
No matter who wins the 2021 NBA Finals, we are in for one of the most special series of all time. Both of these teams are looking to rewrite their franchise’s long championship droughts and start their own dynasties that they hope to maintain for years to come. Even though many of the biggest names in the NBA have already been knocked out, this year’s Finals will offer an intriguing insight into a more traditional form of basketball. With neither of these teams considered to be a "superteam" and their regular season matchups coming down to the wire, we are bound to see a tightly contested NBA Finals that will be much more competitive than those that we have seen in recent years.
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