by One of the greatest phrases in all of sports: Game 7. There is no better way for this series to go, as the Bucks and Nets will battle it out for a spot in the conference finals. Before we look at the game tonight, let’s look back at how we got here.
On essentially the first game of the series James Harden goes up for a traditional floater, and injuries his hamstring. However, the Nets did not miss a beat in a game 1 or 2 looking every bit the super team they look like on paper. They just flat out dominated the Bucks in Brooklyn the first two games.
As the series shifted to Milwaukee, so did the narrative. In the first half of game 3 Kyrie Irving comes down on Giannis’ ankle and he has not been seen since. So that left Kevin Durant on his own to battle the Bucks shorthanded. The Bucks evened the series 2-2.
Game 5 will forever be known as the Kevin Durant game as he quite literally put the team on his back and carried them to victory, playing the entire game. James Harden returned to the court but was essentially a decoy the entire game. The series went back to Milwaukee for game 6 and the Bucks handled their business and forced a decisive game.
So here are a couple of keys for each team. First for Brooklyn, how healthy is Harden going to be. He looked a little bit more like himself in game 6 but was clearly not 100% yet. If the Nets can get Harden at about 80% of himself that would be a huge bonus for them.
Another key for the Nets is to get Joe Harris going again. He was the one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the league this season. He has been in a slump since Kyrie went down. The law of average would say that he is eventually going to start hitting again. For the Nets sake it better be tonight because there just may not be a tomorrow if he doesn’t.
If Joe Harris is unable to get going, the Nets will need Jeff Green or Blake Griffin to have a monster game. While game 5 will go down as Kevin Durant’s masterpiece it was Jeff Green who was huge in that game as well. He went 7-8 from deep. Blake has also shown some signs that he can turn back the clock. One of these 3 guys must be play at a high-level tonight.
For the Bucks, they have found ways for the Greek Freak to be effective, put him on the block and let him overpower whoever is going to attempting to guard him there. He cannot stand out on the 3-point arch stalling the offense and throwing up 8 3’s. Those are just wasting of possessions and prevent Milwaukee from getting into any type of offensive flow.
Khris Middleton has been the most important player for the Bucks this post season. He has been huge the entire post season. He has been their we need a bucket guy. Meaning that when the Bucks need to score, they get it to Khris, and they get out of his way. There have been times when he has gone cold at the wrong times or has had just outright bad games. If that happens tonight, the Bucks are done.
Perhaps the biggest x-factor for the Bucks is the Jrue Holiday. He hasn’t been at his best offensively this series. He has been settling a lot for deep jumpers and step backs. For the past two games, Harden has been guarding him a lot. Harden is not a feared perimeter defender when he is fully healthy. Jrue needs to attack the rim early and often tonight. He cannot settle for the jumper. Put the Nets under press defensively, get some of their guys in foul trouble and get even deeper into their bench.
Some interesting tidbits are that both teams are held home court, meaning the home team has not lost in this series. It is in Brooklyn. Games that have been on ESPN, the Bucks have won all 3. Games that have been telecasted on TNT; the Nets have won all 3. Tonight, will be on TNT.
