Before the Start of the Bucks-Bulls series, the prevailing view was that there was no suspense in the showdown between the two teams and that the Bucks would easily run over.
However, after the first two games, the total score of 1-1 has made the suspense appear, does the Bull have a chance to go down?
In the third game, 111-81, the suspense seemed to disappear again, and the Bucks gave a bloody game, leading again at 2-1 on aggregate.
The second game of the series against the Bulls was a back-and-forth for the Bucks, with DeRozan taking away a win with a career-high 41 points and injuring the big man, Middleton, who suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, which will be reviewed two weeks later and essentially missed the rest of the first round.
The third game came to Chicago, the losing side adjusted first, Budenholzer took out the Bucks in last season's playoffs to play the big killer - three high combination, put Portis into the starting lineup, the Bucks first five Tigers have Lopez, Alphabet Brother and Portis three players in height of 2.08 meters or more, although it is a small ball era, but basketball still pays attention to an inch tall and an inch strong, the Bucks want to crush through the size.
Budenholzer's change in the use of troops is for the correction given in the second game, the Bucks in the second game with The Big Lo and the letters to take turns against Vucevic, the reason why the letters are added is because Vucevic has a three-point skill pack, the Big Lo is used to crouching in the defense, giving a little space, the letter brother's defensive mobility can be taken into account up and down, but what Budenholzer did not expect was that DeRozan actually found a chance to misalign the alphabet brother through the blocking and demolition with Vucevic, and Azan gave a strong "roll call" of 9 in 8 in the face of last season's finals MVP. , hard to penetrate the Bucks' defensive arrangement.
The Bucks' emphasis on the defensive strategy of the penalty area will inevitably give some upper holes, but it is not for DeRozan to explode this method, the Bucks also tried to block and dismantle Azan after the second game, but also missed the Bulls' blocking and dismantling of the three-point and empty cutting basket, this defensive performance that was not blocked by both ends was unacceptable to Budenholzer no matter what.
Putting Portis in the starting lineup, the value of the defensive end is that whether DeRozan and Vucevic or Patrick Williams block the demolition, the Bucks delay, change defense, or bag clip, there will be a big man in front of DeRozan, interfering with his dry shooting, while there are big men to go to the town to guard the basket, so that the defense will still give some three-point opportunities, but the protection of the box is full, while Matthews and Holliday take turns to take over the task of opposing DeRozan, and continue to chase every time the cover bypasses. Form a three-dimensional blockade chain with the big man.
With three high blocks in front and "Margo" and "Jugo" chasing in the back, DeRozan, who killed the Bucks in the last game, only had 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, with a plus-minus of -23.
According to conventional tactical logic, the Bucks piled up defensive forces with DeRozan, and Lavine should have been given more offensive opportunities, but he failed to give the offensive strength that could make the Bucks' defense feel painful. The Bucks didn't let Holliday stare at DeRozan "full-time" just to lock lavin at that point. Holliday's precise, tough but not "dirty" single-soldier defense, the Bucks have at least one basket in three high schools, LaVine can't shoot at all, and the performance of 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting is full of powerlessness.
DeRozan and Ravin were too low on individual offense, and the Bulls' offense basically collapsed, scoring just 81 points in the game, the second time the Bulls failed to score 90 in the series.
The Bucks' defensive advantage comes from their lineup conditions, their lineup rotation can be configured according to the Bulls' field configuration, three highs, double highs and one big and four small freely switch, the letter + Holliday + Connaughton + Allen + Carter This combination can also give an oppressive defense when facing the bulls' second echelon, and the Bulls' feeling is two words "uncomfortable".
The Bucks' offense is also like this, when the swing is three high, Da luo and Portis can stand outside, pull the space apart, and provide a passage for the alphabet brother to kill under the basket, forming a one-star four with high conditions.
Bulls from the last game began to focus on the use of Caruso small defense large counterpoint letters, first around the front to interfere with the catch, no card to the front position behind the top, the letter brother dribbling on the clip, this anti-letter model is raptors head coach Nas in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals developed, bulls directly with the effect is also OK.
However, Brother Alphabet is not the same as he was three years ago, and the bucks are not the bucks of three years ago. Alphabet brother has grown in two ways in these three years, one is that he can give a certain amount of long-range game breakers, and the other is that he has done a better job in finding teammates, and the Bucks, whether it is three high, double high or one big and four small configurations, can respond to the bulls to surround and suppress alphabet brothers.
Portis started with 18 points and 16 rebounds and made it 4-of-8 from three-point range. Allen scored 22 points off the bench and made it 5-of-7 from three-point range. The fire support given by Portis and Allen as auxiliaries is a demonstration of the depth of the Bucks' lineup.
The Bucks and Bulls shot 47%-39% from the field, 15-9 from three-point range, 58-49 rebounds, 15-5 from the fast break, 46-30 from the penalty area, and bucks hammers on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends. The Bucks stretched out the height of the body and the intensity of the confrontation, and in middleton's absence, the alphabet brother only needed to play less than 30 minutes with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists to "get off work", and the maximum lead was 37 points to crush the Bulls.
Basketball games are ultimately a battle of resources, and the Staffing of the Bucks has given Budenholzer the conditions to fill the big hole in injury, which was fully demonstrated in the playoffs last season, alphabet brother missed the fifth and sixth games of the series with a knee injury in the fourth game of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bucks, who did not have the first ace, shot down the Hawks in two consecutive cities, Big Lo and Portis scored 55 points on the fifth occasion, and Middleton and Holliday jointly contributed 59 points in game six.
Missing the letter brother can still pass the East Final, and now that middleton is injured, the Bucks can still fight the battle of prosperity, what is this "family condition"?
I have to admire the ability of the Bucks management in the construction of the lineup, the inside line is both height and projection, the outside line is projection and defense, whether it is internal or external lack of people, you can find a suitable way to fill the loophole.
Interestingly, the Bucks aren't the most paid, and they're fifth in the league this season, with the Warriors, Nets, Clippers and Lakers in the top four, two of which didn't make the playoffs, one in the 0-2 quagmire, and only the Warriors of the four teams are currently playing a performance that matches the salary cost.
Willing to spend money, you have to spend money, the Bucks are a positive example, as for the counter-example, there is a team that is peddling 47 million contracts.