The East Semifinals
4 June 2021
Nets [2] vs. Bucks [3]
If you’re looking for drama, legacies on the line, and some personal battles, this is the series for you. This semifinal matchup between Brooklyn and Milwaukee is arguably the best non-finals matchup of this year’s playoff slate. The main storyline that everyone is going to pay attention to is Giannis Antetokounmpo aka the “Greek Freak” taking on Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving, formally known as “Brooklyn’s Big Three.”
However, there is always an underlying storyline beyond the X’s and O’s. This series is about loyalty, a term that this league has lately not been too fond of. Antetokounpo is the most recent superstar to display such a trait by committing to the team that drafted him and signing a supermax extension. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, Kevin Durant has long been the fans’ image of “disloyal” after joining a Golden State Warrior team coming off an NBA record 73-9 season.
Then there’s Kyrie Irving who demanded a trade from the Cavaliers and was sent to the Boston Celtics which resulted in a two-year stint until he joined Durant in Brooklyn during the same offseason.
Last but not least there’s James Harden. The three-time NBA scoring champ forced his way out of Houston as he continues to seek his first NBA championship. Interestingly enough, Antetokounmpo and Harden have a little bit of history ahead of their first head-to-head postseason matchup.
Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images
“I wish I could be 7-feet, run and just dunk. That takes no skill at all," Harden said. "I gotta actually learn how to play basketball and how to have skill. I'll take that any day.”
Whether Harden accepts it or not, Antetokounmpo is not only the league’s reigning MVP but the defensive player of the year as well. Despite the Nets’ absurd star power all across the court, Milwaukee is no walk in the park. Quite frankly, one can argue that this series may be Nets’ ticket to the NBA Finals as a Sixer team without a Joel Embiid that’s 100% could be as good as done if they advance to the conference finals.
Breaking Down the Game Plan.
When it comes to players of Antetkounmpo’s caliber, Brooklyn’s game plan needs to be centered around doing damage control. However, the ‘Greek Freak’ is not alone with a supporting cast consisting of Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday. I guess you could say Milwaukee has a formidable trio as well that had their way against the Nets this season…
Bucks Stats vs. Nets (3 Games)
In addition to this Bucks’ trio, two players to keep a close eye on offensively and defensively are Bryn Forbes and PJ Tucker, respectively. Forbes is playing 20 minutes per game in the playoffs and averaging 15 PPG while shooting 52.5% from the field. As long as Forbes keeps that same consistency while playing a limited amount of minutes, he could help the Bucks keep up with the Nets firepower offensively.
On top of that, the late-season addition of PJ Tucker could bode well for Milwaukee in this series, especially alongside Antetkounmpo and Holiday trying to be a lock-down defensive unit. Tucker is a seasoned veteran that is not afraid of guarding anyone on the floor. My best guess is that Jrue Holiday will be matchup up against Kyrie Irving with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton on Kevin Durant or James Harden in some cases. I expect Tucker to play a key defensive role in slowing down his former teammate in Harden or take on Joe Harris. Both are players capable of racking up assists or being a straight spot-up shooter.
Stacy Revere | Credit: Getty Images
Meanwhile, when it comes to Brooklyn on both offense and defense this entire playoff run is going to solely depend on Durant, Irving, and Harden. Those three stars are Brooklyn’s lifeline but best believe that they are arguably the most reliable individuals left in the playoffs. That’s the thing about Brooklyn’s “Big Three.” There is no true alpha because any one of them is beyond capable of taking over on any given night. Meanwhile, with Milwaukee, Giannis Antetkounpo is indubitably the leader, so forcing the Bucks to draw their hand make someone like Holiday or Middleton beat Brooklyn in a best of seven series is something Nets head coach Steve Nash would view as the ideal situation defensively.
Ultimately, I’m going to take the Nets, to absolutely no one’s surprise. Brooklyn simply hasn’t given me a reason to bet against them and Milwaukee may look great on both sides of the ball, but not good enough to get the win, let alone push this to a seven-game series. Brooklyn’s Big Three seems to be clicking on all cylinders and I expect the Bucks to have a fighting chance in the first four games of the series with the Nets taking care of business in no more than six games. Here’s a statistical breakdown that proves why this prediction may be fitting.
Nets' Big Three in 2021 Playoffs
The easiest way to explain this data set is efficiency. Far too much firepower is in Brooklyn which will be too tough for Milwaukee’s offense to keep up with down the stretch.
Prediction: Nets in 6
76ers [1] vs. Hawks [5]
Two weeks into the 2021 NBA playoffs and the New York Knicks have found their villain for years to come in Trae Young. The Atlanta Hawks have taken the postseason by storm eliminating the Knicks in five games to advance to their first semifinals appearance since the 2015-16 campaign. All eyes have been on Trae Young since the start of the first round. The Hawks’ 2018 No. 5 pick has been nothing short of phenomenal through his first five playoff games. Here’s what the top-seeded 76ers should expect when taking on the young star point guard.
Trae Young 2020-21 Season Stats
A tall task lies ahead for Philly as Young is the leader of this young Hawks team that has a lot of fight in them. The Sixers will impose a strong perimeter defense that consists of defensive player of the year candidate Ben Simmons along with second-year player Mathiesse Thybulle. These two guards have the ability to go stride for stride with Young all night long in hopes of slowing him down. However, with the potential absence of MVP candidate Joel Embiid, Young and his big man running mates in John Collins and Clint Capela could have their way early on in this series. Sixers’ Dwight Howard provided an update on his teammate ahead of this pivotal semifinals matchup.
“(Embiid) looked good,” Howard said after Friday’s practice, via Bucks Country Courier Times’ Tom Moore. “His movement looked good laterally. I think he should be ready to go, (but) we don’t want to rush him back. … He looked like his old self.”
Tim Nwachukwu | Credit: Getty Images
I believe that Embiid will likely be out of Game 1 of this series as the Sixers would want to be cautious with their star player like Howard added at the end of the quote listed above. It may also give the Sixers a sense of how they play against the Hawks without Embiid’s irreplaceable presence in the paint. My best guess is that the Hawks can steal one of the first two games in Philadelphia but ultimately be tied up at 2-2 by the end of the first four games. By that point in time, I expect Embiid and his supporting cast to really catch stride and send the Hawks home in no more than six games (barring that Embiid is healthy).
Even if Embiid is not 100% healthy, he has a formidable supporting cast consisting of Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons, and Seth Curry to carry the load on both sides of the ball.
76ers 2021 Playoffs (5 Games)
Atlanta has had a great postseason run despite only five games to show for it, I expect them to give this Philadelphia team a run for their money, but ultimately coming up just short.
