MUST READ: 2021 Playoffs: Bucks Vs Nets - Bucks Coach

Despite beating Brooklyn, coach Bud made that series much harder than it needed to be. From the 2nd quarter of game 4 when Kyrie got hurt and was ruled out for the rest of the postseason, Milwaukee only had to deal with KD and a very limited Harden (starting from game 5). James couldn't explode off the dribble due to his hamstring injury so pretty much all of his shots were contested 3's and he barely had lift. Therefore, the only way the Nets had any chance of winning is if Durant went nuclear...which Budenholzer let him do. Kevin was consistently allowed to go 1v1 and attack slower players in the pick n roll. Not only do I not remember seeing any double teams on KD, but when PJ Tucker spent a lot of time on the bench in the 4th quarter of game 5 with foul trouble, Giannis (the reigning defensive player of the year) wasn't guarding Durant. Regardless of Bud's plans, Giannis HAS to take that challenge especially since he has all the physical tools to guard anyone. The Bucks blew a 17 point lead and fumbled game 5 while Kevin put up 49. But you'd think coach would've learned his lesson. Nope. He let KD do his thing in game 6 and almost send Milwaukee home with 48 in game 7.

What might've been worse was not relentlessly attacking Harden on defense since he could barely move. From game 5 to 7, James played 46, 40, and 53 minutes. It's absolutely inexcusable how the Milwaukee coaches and players didn't take advantage of this.

Bobby Portis averaged 12 a game on 47% from 3 off the bench in the regular season (21 minutes per contest) but didn't see the floor for the Bucks after game 4. Bryn Forbes, another reserve, also gave Milwaukee double digits and drilled 45% of his attempts from beyond the arc (19 minutes) but was on the court for only 5 minutes in game 7. How can you possibly explain this in a league where 3's are more valuable than ever?

Although Atlanta (and unlike Brooklyn) has players who can take some pressure off of their star player by being decent enough at creating their own shot (Bogdanovic, Huerter, Gallinari, and Lou), the Bucks are a far superior team. However, there's enough evidence that Bud could cost the Bucks a trip to the finals.

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You likely wont agree with everything and that's ok because nobody agrees with every opinion, regardless of the subject. Just know that I tried my best to be objective as possible.

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