NBA Finals; Bucks – Suns Game 4 Recap

Dantre Cole 7/14/21

NBA Finals; Bucks – Suns Game 4 Recap

Photo via Jeff Hanisch/ USA TODAY Sports

The NBA Finals are heating up now as the Milwaukee Bucks have handled their business on their home court to come back and even the series with Suns at 2 games apiece. The Bucks picked up another good team win at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, defeating the Suns 103-109 in a huge game 4 win. Now with the series heading back to Phoenix for game 5, it appears that the Bucks have all the momentum over the Phoenix Suns after falling by 2 games. So why exactly are things clicking for Milwaukee?

Chris Paul continues to struggle, Holiday’s defense

Chris Paul is the heart and soul, the leader of this young Phoenix Suns team. In his first year with the Suns, Paul led the Suns to a 51-21 record in the loaded Western Conference and the teams first spot in the NBA Finals since the Charles Barkley led 1993 Suns. After getting off to an excellent start in the first 2 games of the series in Phoenix, Paul has notably struggled since then. During game 4, Paul finished with a miserable 10 points, 7 assists, 5 turnovers and a +/- pf -10 on 5/13 shooting, once again being outplayed by Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday. Coach Bud continued to used Holiday to guard Paul, as he is the more stronger and physical point guard, and it appears to be working just like game 3. Jrue Holiday didn’t score many points and shot a terrible 4-20 from the field during game 4, but it wasn’t’ needed during this game. Holiday finished the game with 13 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, solid defense on Chris Paul and a +/- of +8 compared to Paul’s terrible game. If Chris Paul keeps struggling and turning the ball over in key moments, this young Sun’s team will follow the lead of their leader and the series momentum will continue to shift the Bucks way.

No Help for Devin Booker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6l_Bj381U0

After scoring only 10 points and not playing in the 4th quarter of the game 3 loss against Milwaukee, Devin Booker stepped up big time in game 4, finishing with a game high 42 points on 17-28 shooting from the field. Had Booker had done this in game 3, this series would be completely different. Bookers big game came with no help from his teammates, as the next leading scorer on the team was Jae Crowder with 15 points. Booker got no help from his other 2-star teammates, Chris Paul who struggled, and Deandre Ayton who also struggled finishing with only 6 points but a game high 17 rebounds. If the Suns are looking to gain momentum back in the series, they will need both Ayton and Paul to step up the way 2x MVP Giannis’s star teammates, Middleton & Holiday have. Going forward Booker will continue to have to keep this type of productivity up for the Suns as momentum begins to lean towards the Bucks way.

Khris Middleton big game; Giannis another solid outing

Khris Middleton is the type of player that can score 30 plus points on any given night, but he is just too inconsistent. That was not the case in the game 4 win, as Middleton erupted for the Bucks scoring a team high 40 points, hitting key shot after key shot to lead the Bucks to the series tying win. If Middleton can continue scoring around 25-28 points throughout the rest of the series to support and help Giannis out, the series is all but over as long as Phoenix continues to struggle. Speaking of Giannis, he had another solid outing during game 4, finishing with 26 points and 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals & 2 blocks. Giannis absolutely stuffed the stat sheet during game 4 and had a huge block on Suns center Deandre Ayton in clutch time with 1:15 seconds left in the game. Giannis’s block all but secured the game 4 win for the Bucks to gain all the momentum back heading to Phoenix for game 5.

Turnover Ratio, Free Throw Difference

One last key component that I took away from the Bucks game 4-win vs the Suns was the turnover difference between the 2 teams and the free throw difference between the 2 teams. The Bucks finished the game with only a total of 5 team turnovers, which is the same number of turnovers that Chris Paul had himself during the game. Any team that can take care of the ball that well is almost guaranteed a win. If the Bucks continue to take care of the ball like they did in game 4, it is almost certain they will be bringing the Larry O’Brien trophy back to Milwaukee for the first time in 50 years. The Suns had a total of 17 team turnovers, a difference of 12 compared to the Bucks If the Suns continue to have sloppy ball movement the way they did in game 4, Milwaukee can steal home court in Phoenix for game 5. The Suns need to get back to moving the ball well without turning it over the way they did during games 1 & 2. The free throw difference was also a key factor throughout game 4. The Bucks shot 24-29 from the line as team, while the Suns only shot 16-19 from the line as a team, a +10 difference on free throw attempts. Had the free throw ration been even during this game, we could be talking about a completely different series. The suns have a lot of key adjustments to make for game 5 as they head back to The Valley, and they must make those adjustments quick if they hope to take a 3-2 lead at home.