Sixers and Bucks Series Grades

[TrueTorontoFan]

I did this for the magic.. I forgot to do it for the sixers series because it was so hype at the end. Lets do a combined series grade here. I will post my grades later.

[slaw]

Kawhi. A. Nothing need be said.

Lowry. A. He's had a very underrated playoffs at both ends. Made a lot of timely plays and been productive, too.

Siakam. B. The injury during the Philly series really affected him but he's righted the ship and was a solid contributor on both ends during the Bucks' series. Going to need a big career-game type game from him at least once in this GSW series.

Gasol. (Philly C/Bucks B). I said before the playoffs that Gasol was going to need to score if Raps were going to get through to the Finals. His Game 4 against Philly helped save that series and his Game 3-4 performances against MKE helped turn the series. We'll need him to score against GSW, too.

Green. F. Sorry, he's been awful offensively and he's been largely ineffective defensively, especially as the MKE series wore on. Still think he's hurt with that thumb/hand.

FVV. (Sixers D/Bucks B). Trending the right way and who knows what was happening in his personal life with the pregnancy that may have been a big distraction. But was huge late in the Bucks series.

Powell. (Sixers D/Bucks A). No need to dwell on a Sixers series where he couldn't handle their size. He did everything that was asked of him against MKE on both ends.

Ibaka. (Sixers B/Bucks B). I actually have a tough time grading Serge. He's been up-and-down but such can be the life of a bench player in the playoffs. He was massive in Game 7 against the Sixers and his Game 4 against the Bucks was great. He's had a big impact in certain essential wins.

Coaching Staff. A. They've put their team in a position to win. Their tactics have helped stifle the opponents' best players and they've made good decisions in terms of moves (and non-moves!) throughout. Nurse's courtside demeanor remains a huge plus, especially compared to the intensely frantic Dwane Casey days.

[TrueTorontoFan]

I am going to include the grade for each series, as well as the highlights if possible from my favorite game.

Kawhi. A in both. He got better with each series. Was an absolute force offensively and defensively. He was the most consistent raptor bar none. He could have been a bit better defensively at time but considering the load he was tasked with carrying you can't complain. He was able to routinely shut down the opposing team's best player and was often times the first move towards checkmate in each series. When he was finally put on butler OHHH MAN it really changed the philly series. When he was put on Giannis along with everyone else it changed the series.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/K42-D8QPnok

Lowry. A in both series. Made huge plays on both sides of the ball. He did struggle a bit near the end of the philly series, but he really righted the ship in the bucks series and routinely came up big time. I believe it was this series where he again had a few up and down games. It may have even been a goose egg game.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/RxG8_MT9tHY




Siakam. B. He was slow during the philly series. I think it took him a minute to get back That said he was routinely guarded by the beasts of the east. He still did remain consistent overall and was able to always be a huge contributor
https://www.youtube.com/embed/LIk6RoIdnts




Gasol. (Philly C+/Bucks B+). Gasol took waaay to long to get going and be aggressive I think this a result of the lack of time to integrate him into this team during this run. He did what he did well but I would love to see more consistent levels of offense and less time thinking about what to do next and just doing it. Often times he would look for the pass TOO much and I would have liked to have seen him take the open shots or put the ball on the floor 30% more. He should never have under 10 shots a game realistically. On defence he completely locked up Joel and was a difference maker. In the bucks series he did a good job at helping against Giannis and when he was able to be more aggressive he helped make the difference in the series.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/5HR4ic7ggXw


Green. F. These weren't his series.

FVV. (Sixers D-/Bucks A+). Helped save the bucks series... was useless against philly because of his size. His size in the future. means that we will always need at least one additional combo guard to offset who he can guard. He can obviously guard his man but its the offense that he struggles against with SUPER lengthy teams.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/GFqR6Z-epK8


Powell. (Sixers D/Bucks A). I agree with everything that was said... MAN IS A BUCKS KILLER.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/fOnuxE7GTeI

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fOnuxE7GTeI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Ibaka. (Sixers B/Bucks B). Rollercoaster performance but always seems to come up clutch in the right moments. I would have liked to see him be more consistent on the defensive end. He had insane blocks in the bucks series. His 17 points saved us in the Philly series when no one else wanted to shoot the dang ball.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/nt5zIdWedNs


Coaching Staff. A. The coaching staff did a wonderful job of adjusting when it mattered in each series. They ended up being pretty proactive instead of reactive. I do think they could have done a better job of adjusting in the Sixers series and matching Marc's minutes to Embiid's minutes much more quickly, but yeah.




My favorite series was the Philly series because it was so intense from start to finish. I really do think they were the tougher team although the bucks were tough as well.

My favorite moment was the shot.