The journey to this point of the 2020-2021 NBA Season has been grueling and riddled with surprises, and this year’s Playoffs have been no different. The stage is now set for this year’s Finals with two unlikely names in the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Finals shall be comprised of two teams that haven’t made many championship runs in many year’s past. The Phoenix Suns had quite the stretch in last year’s bubble in Orlando, only to fall short of making it to the NBA Playoffs while on the other side, the Milwaukee Bucks had a short stint in last year’s Playoffs. Both organizations have interesting narratives regarding their respective journey’s to the NBA Finals.
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As previously stated, the Phoenix Suns made an incredible run in last year’s NBA Bubble in Orlando going 8-0 to finish out the season. Unfortunately for them, it was not quite enough to propel themselves into contention of the NBA Playoffs. With some roster adjustments this coming season, most notably with Chris Paul in the mix, things had changed quite clearly, now knowing that the Suns are now four wins away of achieving the NBA Championship, something that no one on that roster may want more than said Chris Paul himself, the perennial all-star point guard who has made it to the Playoffs 13 out of 16 years in the league. Alongside Paul, is the young core of the Suns roster in Deandre Ayton, who in which has truly come into form this post season as well as the bright future of the Phoenix Suns organization that is Devin Booker.
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Similar to their Western opposition in this Finals series, the Milwaukee Bucks have shown a great deal of resiliency on their journey to this point in the post-season. Giannis and crew have made consecutive trips to the Playoffs as of the 2016-2017 NBA Season, unfortunately to no success despite going into some Playoffs as the 1st seed and the overall favorites to win the Championship. They’ve received much criticism from both NBA fans and the media alike, and to see them finally have the opportunity to disprove such commentary is something not to be taken lightly. With the addition of Jrue Holiday, the Bucks have potentially found that extra push that was needed to get them where they ultimately wanted to be.
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Keys to the series:
Phoenix Suns: With the kinds of numbers that the Phoenix Suns core have been putting up, it almost safe to say that Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, and Devin Booker will provide a good amount of the offense. However, it is also imperative for the role players on the team that have been imperative to their success thus far, proceed to impact the game of both sides of the floor. This would include individuals such as Cameron Payne, Jae Crowder, and Mikal Bridges to name a few.
Milwaukee Bucks: Knowing that Giannis Antetokounmpo will be sitting out Game 1 of this series may present some concerns for Bucks fans and the Bucks organization alike. It is still unsure if or when he’ll be cleared to play in the series at all, and with that in mind the remainder of the Bucks roster must be able to pick up any slack that may be left in Giannis’ absence as they did in the closeout game against Atlanta. Another key thing to keep an eye out for is Milwaukee’s ability to contain the Suns offensively as much as humanly possible, throwing different defensive looks at Booker and Paul.
Prediction: Bucks in 6.
With all this in mind we are merely hours away from tip-off where Milwaukee Bucks will be taking on the Phoenix Suns for Game 1 of the 2020-2021 NBA Finals. Both the game and the series for the NBA Championship will begin at 6:00PM PST on ABC.
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