Milwaukee Bucks: 4 takeaways from season series with Brooklyn Nets
After much anticipation, the Milwaukee Bucks‘ clash with the Brooklyn Nets is officially set for the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The meeting was set after the Nets took care of business and put the finishing touches on their first round series with the Boston Celtics following their 123-109 Game 5 victory. That came days after the Bucks swept the Miami Heat in their first round series to become the first team to advance to the Conference Semifinals.
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Although the Bucks are showing us all why they’re different this playoff run, their greatest playoff test of the Mike Budenholzer era comes with this matchup against the loaded Nets.
So without further ado, let’s explore some of the biggest takeaways that emerged from the Milwaukee Bucks’ season series with the Brooklyn Nets.
Giannis Antetokounmpo stuffed the scoring sheet in the Milwaukee Bucks’ season series with the Nets
To say that Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was front and center of their season series with Brooklyn would be an understatement.
In the three games that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks faced off against the Nets, the reigning MVP averaged 39.7 points on 45-of-92 shooting from the field (10-for-26 from 3-point range, 19-for-26 from the foul line). Antetokounmpo added in 10.7 rebounds and 5 assists to go along with that gaudy scoring line. That was the highest scoring mark Antetokounmpo averaged against an Eastern Conference opponent this regular season.
That was certainly helped by the fact that Antetokounmpo set his season-high 49-point performance in the Bucks thrilling 117-114 win over the Nets last month. Not only was Antetokounmpo unstoppable in getting to the rim like always, he also matched his season-high of four triples in that marquee matinee.
Of course, it seemed as though this was all by the Nets’ design. In each of the Bucks’ meetings with the Nets, Brooklyn tasked the likes of DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin to slow down Antetokounmpo and without sending help to form that wall that has trapped Antetokounmpo historically.
In fact, nobody logged more possessions primarily defending Antetokounmpo this season than the Nets’ big man duo.
Per NBA.com/stats, Antetokounmpo scored 50 total points on 20-for-44 shooting (5-for-12 from downtown, 5-for-7 from the free throw line) across the 72.4 partial possessions that he and Jordan were matched up against each other. Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo scored 35 total points on 13-for-35 shooting from the field (5-for-16 from three, 4-for-7 from the free throw line), eight assists and seven turnovers across the 67 partial possessions he matched up against Griffin.
Brooklyn made a point of letting Antetokounmpo get his as well as get comfortable from the very areas that has long been his weakness. Whether they’ll continue adhering to that ploy remains to be seen now with this series set to tip off this weekend, but Antetokounmpo will need plenty of help, even as he could have similar field days against Brooklyn.