Milwaukee Bucks: 5 most crucial matchups in NBA Finals vs. Phoenix Suns
By Dalton Sell
It might seem like a dream, but the Milwaukee Bucks are officially set to take on the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals starting this Tuesday.
Both teams are coming off hard-fought six games series in the Conference Finals, with the Bucks overthrowing the Atlanta Hawks and the Suns defeating the LA Clippers. Just how healthy the players are heading into this matchup will ultimately be the focal point for this series, but this Finals matchup is shaping up to have some fireworks between the last two teams still standing.
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Looking back on the regular season series between these two teams, it was a brief two-game stretch that saw the Suns defeat the Bucks both times by a total difference of two points.
While the NBA Playoffs are a different beast entirely than the regular season, those two games provide some insight into the potential matchups that wait ahead in the NBA Finals. With that being said, here are five crucial matchups in this gladiator match between the Bucks and Suns.
Mike Budenholzer against Monty Williams will be a chess match in NBA Finals between Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns
The first battle to keep an eye on between the Bucks and Suns will be the head coaching coming from a pair of top-notch coaches.
Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer has been ridiculed for his postseason tactics over the past two seasons, but he has been all-around better in his third try. The coach has willingly made the right adjustments when necessary – simple, but something has been highlighted as a massive issue in the past – and has done a solid job of making the right rotation calls. While he has been a pleasant surprise throughout the first three rounds of the postseason, he will face a tall order in these NBA Finals with the man on the opposing sidelines calling the shots.
That would be Phoenix’s Monty Williams, who rightfully finished as a top-three finalist for the NBA’s 2020-21 Coach of the Year voting for a stellar season. Williams masterfully coached the Suns to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and has now elevated them to the NBA Finals after making the playoffs this year for the first time since 2010. It has been a turbulent postseason run for these Suns, but Williams has done a solid job of navigating his crew through it.
It will be compelling to see how these two coaches plan for the matchup. Both teams have an immeasurable amount of versatility on their side to potentially wreak havoc for the other. Seeing how these two plan to combat the other will be interesting, and time will tell if Budenholzer can get the upper hand and carry over his recent success during his first-ever trip to the NBA Finals.