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The Phoenix Suns are looking to stave off elimination when they face the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals on Tuesday. For the first time in these playoffs, the Suns are on the verge of being sent home after losing three straight games.
They had two legitimate chances the past two games, but the Phoenix Suns couldn’t finish the job they started. After a poor performance in Game 3, Devin Booker exploded for a pair of 40-point games which the Suns squandered when they lost both of them regardless. The losses have resulted in the predicament that coach Monty Williams’ squad is in right now, with their postseason lives at stake for Game 6.
Chris Paul is aching to win his first championship but that will be in jeopardy when he steps on the floor on Tuesday. He played a sensational Game 5 with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting including 3-of-3 from 3-point range. He also had 11 assists and just one turnover.
Though the Phoenix Suns’ top two players did nearly everything right the past two games, they still suffered defeat. So what else do the Phoenix Suns have to do to win Game 6 and avoid being eliminated?
1. Phoenix Suns need to move the ball around
The Phoenix Suns have failed to rotate the ball the past four games. They won Game 1 because they were determined to find the open man before someone took a shot. Since then, the Milwaukee Bucks have been the more disciplined team, making the extra pass to get one of their teammates open.
This has resulted in the Phoenix Suns losing three of the last four games. In the NBA Finals, the Bucks are averaging 23.6 assists per game compared to just 21.2 for the Suns. In the first three rounds of the playoffs, Phoenix was distributing the ball at the rate of 24.4 assists a night.
These stats show that the Phoenix Suns’ ball handlers (Booker, Chris Paul and Elfrid Payton) aren’t getting the job done and that the Bucks’ defense is preventing them from doing their jobs right.
Booker can’t win a championship by his lonesome, and he certainly won’t be able to keep them from being eliminated on Tuesday on his own. It has to be a collective effort by the Suns’ players to get their offense running in high gear by finding the open man.
2. Make more 3-pointers than the Milwaukee Bucks
After five games, the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks are tied in total 3-pointers made with 60, but it’s the latter that is winning the NBA Finals so far. That’s because the only time that the Suns led the Bucks in threes in a game was in Game 2.
Had it not been for the 20 3-pointers that the Phoenix Suns drained in that Game 2 win, they would be losing the battle of the threes entirely. Between the two teams, it’s the Suns who rely more on outside shooting to win games. They don’t really overpower their opponents with their inside presence, although they have Deandre Ayton who does the dirty work in the paint for them.
The Phoenix Suns have to overwhelm the Bucks with their 3-point shooting. Their current average of 12.0 3-pointers a game isn’t going to cut it. They have to come out with guns blazing and shoot it like there’s no tomorrow because there isn’t one unless they do it. They need to make a minimum of 15 3-pointers while keeping the Bucks to 10 and below to send the NBA Finals to a Game 7.
3. Control the boards
It’s not easy to outrebound the bigger and stronger Milwaukee Bucks especially if their only legit rebounder is Ayton. So far, the Bucks have won the battle of the boards, but the Phoenix Suns have been able to keep the margin to a respectable number for the most part.
This is where 3-point shot attempts will come in handy for the Phoenix Suns. Since they are primarily a jump-shooting team, they have to stay true to their identity and keep taking long jumpers and 3-pointers as often as they can. This results in long rebounds when they miss, giving them a chance to grab rebounds outside the paint where they don’t have to contend with the Bucks’ big bodies.
The Bucks are the league’s no. 1 rebounding team in the postseason (48.8 per game), but the Phoenix Suns are no slouches either at no. 7 (43.0). If they can prevent their opponent from grabbing more boards by following this strategy, the Suns have a shot at extending the series to a seventh game.
Also Read: 3 things Milwaukee Bucks need to do to clinch title against Phoenix Suns in Game 6 | 2021 NBA Finals
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