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Bucks n Chowderheads
That the Chowders won in 4 over the Pacers isn't debatable.. Neither is that the Bucks swept the Pistons. What is worth picking at is how they each did it.
The Bucks crushed and powdered the Blake-less Pistons. Yes Griffin was in games 3 and 4 but he played it on a bad leg. This was an old fashioned beatdown in every aspect of the game. Shooting.. on the boards..cohesive offensive sets ... seriously good defensive sets and rotations AND the legend of the Alphabet continues to grow.
Boston also swept but it wasn't how the Bucks used their brooms. The Celts trailed in the 4th quarter of every game. They trailed at the half . It was pretty close until Indiana put up a 12 spot once a quarter and took themselves out of the game. However the Pacers were good enough that they made the Chowderheads play all their guys a lot longer and more minutes to make sure they put away the pacers in the last few minutes. I get its the playoffs and there is lots of time between games but you want to conserve energy where you can. So while its a sweep there are two ways to look at it. One is the argument that after 82 games the light is switching on or...he other is that its the dead cat bounce for the peckerwoods from Chowdertown. .
Just like Philly and the Raps are taking a big step up in class so are the Chowders and the Bucks..Pretty much everyone has been waiting for the Bucks to slip even a little with a couple of injuries to key rotation guys but they haven't. The Alphabet in transition is either a foul or a basket. Middleton hasn't gone into a flat spot and the good Lopez is still taking and making a lot of 3s. Mirotic is just back so the jury is out on him. Bledsoe has been making his shots as well and can break you down off the dribble in the half court. Offensively this team is a pantload. The difference for them will be this is round 2 when the intensity ramps up and the Bucks just don't have a ton of playoff experience beyond a couple of one and dones. .
The Celtics sport a very good defense. Horford and Brown and in a pinch a Morris twin can really slow you down and Rozier will get right up in your grill when he comes in. They will miss Smart. Baynes will give them rebounding when he is in the game. Kyrie Irving can win games all by himself on the offensive side but they still hide him on defense. After a year of pretty inconsistent play Hayward has been playing better on both sides of the ball.
But...offensively ....its the Irving show when the games get close. He will play pick n roll with Horford in the first half and Tatum will get his looks.. Brown will get putbacks and in transition and make the odd 3... but when the game is close in the 2nd half.. and sometimes when its not.... its all Irving all the time and he has shown he can win games all by himself..
Lots of great matchups in this series. Its sees round 2 of Eric Bledsoe vs Terry Rozier. Don't think Bledsoe has forgotten he got schooled by Rozier last year. Can Brown and Tatum outshine Middelton and Mirotic as secondary scoring options. Can the good Lopez pull Aaron Baynes out from under the basket with his 3 point shooting and cause the Celtics headaches as the Bucks swarm the offensive glass. Will 31 year old Al Horford have enough in the tank to slow the Alphabet down even a little bit.
There are two.. count em two... certifiable coaching geniuses in Bud and Brad.
But there is only one Alphabet....
Bucks in 6
That the Chowders won in 4 over the Pacers isn't debatable.. Neither is that the Bucks swept the Pistons. What is worth picking at is how they each did it.
The Bucks crushed and powdered the Blake-less Pistons. Yes Griffin was in games 3 and 4 but he played it on a bad leg. This was an old fashioned beatdown in every aspect of the game. Shooting.. on the boards..cohesive offensive sets ... seriously good defensive sets and rotations AND the legend of the Alphabet continues to grow.
Boston also swept but it wasn't how the Bucks used their brooms. The Celts trailed in the 4th quarter of every game. They trailed at the half . It was pretty close until Indiana put up a 12 spot once a quarter and took themselves out of the game. However the Pacers were good enough that they made the Chowderheads play all their guys a lot longer and more minutes to make sure they put away the pacers in the last few minutes. I get its the playoffs and there is lots of time between games but you want to conserve energy where you can. So while its a sweep there are two ways to look at it. One is the argument that after 82 games the light is switching on or...he other is that its the dead cat bounce for the peckerwoods from Chowdertown. .
Just like Philly and the Raps are taking a big step up in class so are the Chowders and the Bucks..Pretty much everyone has been waiting for the Bucks to slip even a little with a couple of injuries to key rotation guys but they haven't. The Alphabet in transition is either a foul or a basket. Middleton hasn't gone into a flat spot and the good Lopez is still taking and making a lot of 3s. Mirotic is just back so the jury is out on him. Bledsoe has been making his shots as well and can break you down off the dribble in the half court. Offensively this team is a pantload. The difference for them will be this is round 2 when the intensity ramps up and the Bucks just don't have a ton of playoff experience beyond a couple of one and dones. .
The Celtics sport a very good defense. Horford and Brown and in a pinch a Morris twin can really slow you down and Rozier will get right up in your grill when he comes in. They will miss Smart. Baynes will give them rebounding when he is in the game. Kyrie Irving can win games all by himself on the offensive side but they still hide him on defense. After a year of pretty inconsistent play Hayward has been playing better on both sides of the ball.
But...offensively ....its the Irving show when the games get close. He will play pick n roll with Horford in the first half and Tatum will get his looks.. Brown will get putbacks and in transition and make the odd 3... but when the game is close in the 2nd half.. and sometimes when its not.... its all Irving all the time and he has shown he can win games all by himself..
Lots of great matchups in this series. Its sees round 2 of Eric Bledsoe vs Terry Rozier. Don't think Bledsoe has forgotten he got schooled by Rozier last year. Can Brown and Tatum outshine Middelton and Mirotic as secondary scoring options. Can the good Lopez pull Aaron Baynes out from under the basket with his 3 point shooting and cause the Celtics headaches as the Bucks swarm the offensive glass. Will 31 year old Al Horford have enough in the tank to slow the Alphabet down even a little bit.
There are two.. count em two... certifiable coaching geniuses in Bud and Brad.
But there is only one Alphabet....
Bucks in 6
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