Phoenix Suns vs Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are right back in the NBA Finals after their dominant 20-point win in Game 3 cut the Phoenix Suns’ series lead to 2-1.
And with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the midst of a historically dominant run, the Bucks will look to grab their chance to tie the series back up at 2-2 as they host Game 4.
However, the Suns have a habit of bouncing back in this postseason and will be keen to defy the NBA 2021 betting odds by stealing a big road win in Milwaukee.
Talking Points
Greek Freak going wild
It’s a miracle that Giannis Antetokounmpo is even playing in the NBA Finals. It was just two weeks ago that he suffered a severe hyperextension of his left knee against the Atlanta Hawks, which put his postseason run in serious jeopardy.
But not only has the Greek Freak played all three games in the Finals, but he has also been playing some of his best basketball in the playoffs despite his damaged knee.
Antetokounmpo is coming off a truly dominant 41-point, 13-rebound, six-assist performance to lead the Bucks to a blowout win in Game 3. He was a perfect 12-of-12 from the restricted area, which showed his utter dominance inside, and even hit 13 of his 17 free throws.
That was Giannis’ second straight Finals game of over 40 points and 10 rebounds, which put him in an exclusive group that includes only Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James.
Clearly, containing Giannis in the paint is a major problem Phoenix need to fix in Game 4. But with backup centre Dario Saric out and few other options available, the Suns will have quite a challenge to find a solution.
Booker, Ayton need to bounce back
While Giannis’ dominance was a big reason for the Bucks’ blowout win, the struggles of Suns stars Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton also played a part.
Booker had one of his worst games of these playoffs with just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field and 1-of-7 on 3-pointers. Ayton finished with a respectable 18 points and nine rebounds, but he played just 24 minutes due to foul trouble.
But the Suns should feel reasonably confident in their young stars’ ability to bounce back in Game 4. Booker is a streaky shooter who will struggle in one game but be red-hot the next. Meanwhile, Ayton has generally done well to avoid foul trouble, which has allowed him to play heavy minutes in the playoffs.
Having Ayton on the floor longer will certainly help the Suns’ efforts to avoid another heavy beating by Antetokounmpo in the paint.
Point guard duel picking up steam
The point guard battle between Chris Paul and Jrue Holiday was expected to be a competitive battle, but Paul was likely to come out on top. And over the first two games, he was comfortably getting the better of his opposite number.
Paul was averaging 27.5 points and 8.5 rebounds with excellent shooting, while Holiday was having more of the offensive woes that have haunted him in these playoffs.
But Holiday finally snapped out of his slump and created some NBA 2021 highlights in Game 3 with 21 points and nine assists to help the Bucks to victory.
With Paul’s consistency, he will find a way to get his numbers. That means Holiday must continue to at least match Paul’s production offensively for the Bucks to completely turn this series around.
History
The Suns are in a similar position they were in against the Clippers in the West finals. After winning the first two games, they lost Game 3 by a big margin. But they bounced back and won Game 4 on the road to claim a commanding 3-1 lead and eventually won in six games.
The Suns have back-to-back games lost just once in this postseason. That came in Games 2 and 3 in their first-round series against the Lakers.
As for the Bucks, they were behind 0-2 against the Brooklyn Nets in the East semi-finals, but they bounced back to win the next two games at home.
The Bucks have a brilliant home record in these playoffs. They are 7-1, with their lone loss coming in Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks.
What are the odds?
The SBOTOP odds have the Bucks as significant 1.52 favourites at home on the money line market, with the Suns at 2.61. Meanwhile, the Asian Handicap has them favoured from 3.50 to 5.00 points.
Based on their impressive home record, coupled with how dominant Giannis has been in the last two games, it seems like a decent bet the Bucks can even this series up at 2-2.
The Suns should be able to make things more competitive with better games from Booker and Ayton. But they don’t have great options against Giannis, which will certainly be a concern in Game 4.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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