What the Brooklyn Nets need to do to win this series
The biggest takeaway for Brooklyn from their series against Boston should be how dominant they were offensively. They averaged 123.4 points per game against the Celtics and their “Big 3” was fantastic together even though they barely played with one another during the regular season.
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden combined to average 85.2 points per game, which is absolutely unheard of by a trio in the NBA playoffs! You almost have to hope that one of them has a bad game to beat them, but the thing is that a bad night for Irving, Durant or Harden is still 16-18 points, which is a good game for any other player on any other team!
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The difference between the Bucks and Celtics though is that Milwaukee has a lot more size than Boston did, which could definitely change things in terms of how effective the Nets offense is. It seemed like Brooklyn was able to get inside the paint on offense fairly easily every single possession against the Celtics, which is something they will not be able to do against Milwaukee.
Given the length of Milwaukee, not only will they be able to limit Brooklyn’s opportunities driving to the rim, but they will also be able to contest the Nets’ shots much better seeing as they have Antetokounmpo and Lopez defending in the paint.
Kevin Durant has been fantastic in the NBA playoffs so far, averaging about 32.6 points per game in the postseason this year, but that was against Jayson Tatum and the Celtics. He will likely be shaded by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton in this series against the Bucks, who are much better defenders given their length and size.
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If Brooklyn is to win this series against the Bucks, they are not only going to have to get production from guys like Joe Harris, Blake Griffin and Bruce Brown on offense, but they are going to have to limit the Bucks three-point shooting.
Given their lack of size, especially without Jeff Green, the Nets are going to have a hard time stopping the Bucks inside the paint, which is why they need to focus on the Bucks’ perimeter players. Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to have his way in the paint and could easily average over 30 points per game in this series, but limiting the effectiveness of Khris Middleton and Bryn Forbes needs to be at the top of the “to-do” list for the Nets as they get ready to take on the Bucks.
