The Phoenix Suns came crashing back to earth after a disappointing Game 3 as they fell victim to a Milwaukee Bucks team that was more eager to get back in the Finals series. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. absolutely dominated Phoenix as they protected their home floor with a 120-100 lopsided victory.
Heading to another pivotal encounter on Wednesday night, the Suns must come up with a new game plan as they aim to avoid having a similar letdown come Game 4. Ultimately, their key players must bounce back and step up in order for the Suns to steal a game in Milwaukee and further stretch their series lead moving forward.
Here are two major adjustments that the Suns must make heading to Game 4:
1. Phoenix must crash the boards better.
A major factor for the Suns' loss was their inability to make shots all over the floor. To make things worse, they weren't able to gather extra possessions after their many misses as they failed to get their own rebounds. In fact, the Suns were dominated on the boards by the Bucks, 47-36, which made it harder for them to trim the huge deficit that they sustained in Game 3 at a couple of different junctures.
Phoenix's main big man in Deandre Ayton, in particular, only managed to get a total of nine boards on Sunday night. Him tallying single digits in the rebounding department certainly won't work for the Suns moving forward in the series.
The 22-year-old will continue to play a crucial role for his team as they can't afford to be shelled on the glass to that extent moving forward and in Game 4, especially as they face a Milwaukee side that has better rebounders on the floor.
2. The Suns have to attack the paint to score more points and get more fouls.
In Game 3, Devin Booker wasn't his usual self as he was limited to a total of 10 points on an awful 1-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. His struggles from downtown eventually effectuated the whole team as they miserably failed on draining threes, going 9-of-31 from the three-point line.
Aside from their cold outside shooting, the Suns also saw a huge disparity in terms of points in the paint as they were outscored by the Bucks, 54-40, in that particular department. After the game, head coach Monty Williams claimed that calls weren't going their way and a player from the opposing side even got more free-throw attempts as compared to what his whole team had for the entire game.
Obviously, he was referencing Antetokounmpo who was gifted a total of 17 free-throw attempts and was pretty efficient as he made 13 of those shots. On the other hand, the Suns' shooting woes continued as they failed to capitalize on the opportunities after going 11-of-16 from the charity stripe.
Throughout recent years, Antetokounmpo's ability to get a ton of free-throw attempts is no longer a secret as his playing style focuses on driving to the basket and attacking the paint. Whether he does it on purpose or not, the Greek Freak has been able to fish for fouls which have been a blessing for the Bucks, especially when he successfully makes his attempts from the line.
Knowing that they weren't having their way from long distance, the Suns could've just taken a page from their opponents and focused on attacking the paint instead. Perhaps if they didn't focus on launching and missing shots from beyond the arc then they could've gotten the calls that they wanted to have in the first place.
To sum it up, the Suns can't just rely on their ability to make three-point shots since they will just get beat by Antetokounmpo's hard drives, especially during days when they are badly missing their attempts as they did in Game 3. Phoenix has to establish a greater presence in the paint that should be led by Deandre Ayton in order to successfully bounce back and stretch their series lead in Game 4.
Follow Us
Subscribe