4th quarter tie game, it’s winning time, your big guns have to rise to the occasion. It didn’t happen for Phoenix
- Not sure if this is a set or what but cp gets khris on him and goes to sit in the corner, Jrue on book and he wants no parts of the ball, nobody setting any good screens. Just a terrible unfocused possession.
- They catch both Tuck & Giannis ball watching, Crowder misses a WIDE open look.
- Book gets Portis on the switch, gets him off balance & has the pull up instead decides to blow by him but doesn’t put any arc on the finger roll
- CP misses a technical free throw
- Book gets Giannis on the switch, tries the Harden arm bar & doesn’t get the call.
- CP loses the handle against no pressure
- They finally get Connaughton on the ball but Kaminsky wants to set a screen
You can tell a clear plan hasn’t been communicated. Book doesn’t want Giannis to switch so he rejects it, goes baseline but now the base is an extra defender, turnover.
- Pat is out of the game so now would be a good time to make Middleton defend on the ball, instead CP lets Tuck keep the assignment, runs PnR with Giannis who switches, Paul gives it to Book who gets ripped on the trap
Just a mess
- CP calls for a rescreen & gets Giannis twisted up, Ayton gets the dump off with nobody between him & the rim and doesn’t even try to go up strong. SHOOK
- they catch Portis gambling after a loose ball Crowder misses another WIDE open look
- They run a beautiful elevator doors variation for Book, WIDE open brick. Bridges takes a foul when he doesn’t have to
ball game.
Title on the line - 3 fantastic looks, 3 bricks. Other possessions they took harder paths rather than trying to get a weaker defender on the ball which they had success with all series long. CP with a giveaway & missed free throw, Ayton getting scared
Less than stellar execution all around. CP & Book will have all summer to think about why they went away from what was working in the 4th quarter of these road games.
On the other end Giannis with 50 in a closeout, 12 points before garbage time in the 4th, more than Book & CP combined. Bud has him playing like a center and there’s just not much you can do:
- crowder instinctually sinks deep in transition to build the Giannis wall, khris attacks his closeout Ayton helps & forces a miss. Crowder was supposed to help the helper & get his body on Giannis but doesn’t. He’s probably still too short but doesn’t even make an effort. Suns are good defensively but not elite so that’s not surprising. Giannis got a million of these easy buckets all series long.
- Bridges & Crowder don’t communicate the coverage
end up with 2 on the ball, Jrue makes the read, Ayton doesn’t have his arms straight up on the help. Bridges is supposed to go over the screen & Crowder is supposed to drop. You’re conceding an open look at 10-15 feet this way but that’s the best option.
- Giannis freight trains in transition, Bridges picks the ball up & fouls. He’s struggled with that matchup all series, although that one was a tough call for Phoenix after book didn’t get the whistle using the Harden armbar at the other end.
- They give Jrue a double screen & crowder has to pick up ball or Jrue can turn the corner with Kaminsky & Paul on the backend. Bridges now on Giannis & Giannis heads to the block where Bridges isn’t a match.
- Crowder doesn’t give Ayton any help on the iso so this is poor defense. Giannis is shooting like 80% at the rim so you have to concede the corner 3.
- they try PnR with khris but Giannis doesn’t really set the screen so they get nothing, then Jrue uses Crowder’s front as a screen, they get the Bridges switch & Giannis shows off some of that #skill
The quarter was a microcosm of the whole game, he’s not only reliant on isos & fastbreaks anymore. Using him as a pick & roll big has opened an entirely new world of opportunities for him & others. Took Bud a while but better late than never for right?
Giannis with an all time great resume at 26 years old. Amazing. Deserves all the flowers.
