After easily booting out their foes in the first round, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets are set to meet in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Both teams have chips on their shoulders. The Bucks have been beasting and feasting in the regular season for the past few years. But come playoff time, they suddenly falter and look like a much lousier team than their record indicates. Meanwhile, the Nets' only option this season is to win a title given their immensely talented roster.
It would be a great story if either team advances to the Eastern Conference Finals. Both teams have built very interesting narratives. However, fans and analysts seem to favor the Nets to take this series, and all for very good reasons. The Nets may be the most offensively potent team that we've ever seen. Sometimes you don't have to look at any advanced statistics to see how the Nets have the advantage over the Bucks at almost every aspect of the game.
But for the sake of a discussion, let's look at the three reasons why the Nets will beat the Bucks in the second round of the playoffs.
Nets' Three (3) Biggest Advantages vs. Bucks
No Answer For Kyrie-Harden Backcourt
Bucks guard Jrue Holiday will be assigned the tall order of guarding the dreaded Nets backcourt duo of Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Statistics reveal that Holiday was able to contain Harden to just three points (1-of-5 from deep, 1-of-5 from the field) when he was guarding The Beard during their lone match-up in the regular season. Harden did finish with 34 points and 12 assists. But the stat certainly shows Holiday might be the answer for containing Harden.
However, let's not forget there's still Kyrie Irving. He may not possess the same playmaking abilities as Harden. But Irving is a lethal offensive threat in his own right. In short, Holiday may be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. But he can only guard one player at a time. The Nets backcourt alone is just too talented to be contained.
Besides, defense is just one aspect of the game. Holiday also has chores on the offensive end. Holiday definitely has endurance and mental toughness. But it'll be difficult to maintain this mindset for the entire seven-game series if ever it does stretch to that.
Giannis Can Probably Guard Durant, But Not Really
Below is an interesting clip of the matchups between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant. If you're coach Mike Budenholzer, it would make a whole lot of sense to let Giannis guard Durant 100 percent of the time. The Greek Freak seems to be the ultimate antidote to Durant. Giannis has the length and the lateral quickness to stay in front of the four-time scoring champ. It's amazing to see how Giannis is able to contest Durant's shot with ease. Durant is so used to getting off clean jump shots simply because there's no one taller than him in his position. The clip shows how Giannis is able to bother Durant in his jump shots.
However, head coach Steve Nash has probably studied these clips and is currently concocting a game plan. There's no way in hell he would let Giannis guard Durant for the majority of the game. He would probably set up Durant to all sorts of motion plays to shake off Giannis. Khris Middleton is a capable defender. But Nash would rather see Middleton guard Durant any time of the day than Giannis.
Joe Harris – The silent weapon
Joe Harris is probably one of the most disrespected and underrated players in the NBA. Whenever the Nets win, it's the big three who amasses all the praise and glory from fans and the media. But a look at Harris' stats reveals that he's been performing at a very high level this season. As for one, he drained a total of 211 3-pointers in the regular season for sixth in the league.
Scrolling through his game log also shows how Harris has been consistent all season long. Not all role players in elite teams have a player like Harris. And of course, there are those games where he just explodes for 20 to 30 points with at least five makes from downtown. Fans should not be surprised if Harris comes up with a 30-piece in one of the games. Nash has integrated him very well in his offensive sets. The big three, too, have been constantly trying to find Harris from deep. They know he's money.
All in all, the Bucks may be able to contain one of the big three in some games. But there's still Joe Harris who can punish them with his scoring.
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