Bucks @ Suns Saturday Finals game thread 7-17-2021 Game - Game 5

[82CardsGrad]

Depends on how hurt he really is. If he is truly hurt more than anybody knows we won't see the real CP3.

I don't accept this thinking at all... This is very binary. If he steps foot on the court, it's because he, Monty and the trainers believe whatever "injury" he might have, is NOT an issue. Therefore, if he plays, it's entirely on him to play well and lead this team to a win. If he can't do that, he should not step foot on the court.

 

[Covert Rain]

I don't accept this thinking at all... This is very binary. If he steps foot on the court, it's because he, Monty and the trainers believe whatever "injury" he might have, is NOT an issue. Therefore, if he plays, it's entirely on him to play well and lead this team to a win. If he can't do that, he should not step foot on the court.

Except history doesn't support your supposition. Monty threw him out there clearly unhealthy after the shoulder injury. He even admitted Paul convinced him to let him try it a couple games in a row. He also has gone to Chris despite the torn ligaments since the Clips series. What he should do and what the Suns have done is two different things.

You honestly believe Monty is going to stand in the way of Paul giving it a go for the rest of this series? No way.

 

[dscher]

I don't accept this thinking at all... This is very binary. If he steps foot on the court, it's because he, Monty and the trainers believe whatever "injury" he might have, is NOT an issue. Therefore, if he plays, it's entirely on him to play well and lead this team to a win. If he can't do that, he should not step foot on the court.

While I agree, this ship has long sailed. If CP wants to play, even to the potential detriment of the team, he'll play imo. I made mention in the game thread.. if Monty wasn't willing to switch up the minutes with cam payne and CP halfway through last game...he won't the rest of the way. We just have to sit back and hope for the best.

 

[Mainstreet]

Chris Paul says the partially torn ligaments in his right hand are not affecting him in this series.

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[Mainstreet]

I'd expect Chris Paul to say as much even if they were.

 

[Covert Rain]

Chris Paul says the partially torn ligaments in his right hand are not affecting him in this series.

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What is he supposed to say? Sure...I am hurt Bucks....my play is impacted by this injury?!!?

 

[dscher]

Chris Paul says the partially torn ligaments in his right hand are not affecting him in this series.

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Ya don't say??...

 

[Mainstreet]

Chris Paul in in shootaround.

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[Chaplin]

Here’s what I expect of game 5:

suns
Book has very good game
Paul has adequate game
Ayton has good game
Bridges is nowhere
Crowder drives us insane with up and down game
Cam Johnson keeps playing well
Payne has nice bounce back game
Craig makes a couple big plays

bucks
Giannis is giannis and goes for 30
Middleton is meh
Holiday is poor
Lopez has solid game
Tucker has poor game
Portis makes some plays
Connaughton makes some big threes but is overall quiet
Teague plays poorly

suns win

Did you just describe Game 1?

 

[Covert Rain]

Chris Paul in in shootaround.

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Might be totally anecdotal since we can't see the entire thing but his lack of attention from coaches looks like "hey take it easy on that wrist" to me.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Except history doesn't support your supposition. Monty threw him out there clearly unhealthy after the shoulder injury. He even admitted Paul convinced him to let him try it a couple games in a row. He also has gone to Chris despite the torn ligaments since the Clips series. What he should do and what the Suns have done is two different things.

You honestly believe Monty is going to stand in the way of Paul giving it a go for the rest of this series? No way.

The shoulder injury did limit Paul's minutes and even when he played when the shoulder issue was fresh, he wasn't a turnover machine. While the shoulder issue was painful, it clearly didn't impact Paul for an extended period of time. Which tells me he was able to find ways to play through it, while not killing the team.
Additionally, we're now in Game 5 of the finals...playing the Bucks, not the Lakers.

And no... I don't believe Monty is gonna stand in Paul's way. Which, goes back to my earlier comment. We are about to see what Paul is truly made of as, if he chooses to play (I honestly don't buy into the "injury" thing as being the root cause for him poor play), it's 100% on him to find a way to play well enough so that he isn't the cause and/or key contributor toward a loss.

 

[Covert Rain]

The shoulder injury did limit Paul's minutes and even when he played when the shoulder issue was fresh, he wasn't a turnover machine. While the shoulder issue was painful, it clearly didn't impact Paul for an extended period of time. Which tells me he was able to find ways to play through it, while not killing the team.
Additionally, we're now in Game 5 of the finals...playing the Bucks, not the Lakers.

And no... I don't believe Monty is gonna stand in Paul's way. Which, goes back to my earlier comment. We are about to see what Paul is truly made of as, if he chooses to play (I honestly don't buy into the "injury" thing as being the root cause for him poor play), it's 100% on him to find a way to play well enough so that he isn't the cause and/or key contributor toward a loss.

I didn't say that. What I said was Monty admitted that he put Chris out there unhealthy because Chris wanted to give it a go. He was clearly not himself a couple of games. He couldn't dribble and Monty eventually pulled him. Probably should not have been out there. Again, after the ligaments injury if this was any other time or likely any other player Monty would not have played him at least for the next game. This is Chris Paul. His first WCF championship and his first Finals appearance.

There is no way and I mean no way he is treated like the other players. There is no way he keeps Chris out if Chris wants to be out there. He may not be capable of playing up to his standards. That's just a fact. Having said that we may not need him to. He just needs to be competent and we have a chance.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Since I was watching him on the bench from 20 feet away the last two games....... I believe Chris is lying. But...... I think he had issues in game 6 of the Clips series and look what he did in that one.

I really don't know what to believe at this point. Honestly, I think we just need to protect the ball and we win. But they have one good defender, one great defender, and one transcendent MVP level defender. Who knows what the heck is about to happen in this series.

But we aint winning ish without close to top level CP3 IMHO.

 

[Mainstreet]

Might be totally anecdotal since we can't see the entire thing but his lack of attention from coaches looks like "hey take it easy on that wrist" to me.

This is the impression I received on the all too brief video... take it easy on the hand, wrist and shoulder.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Clearly the best case scenario is for the Suns to win games 5 and 6 - next best is to win games 5 and 7. But if we lose game 5 I'll still believe this team has a chance to win it all. At that point, you're just looking at 1 win on the road to become the favorite again.

same. And that might even be a little Kool-Aid based, but it’s the Finals and I’m going to hold out hope until the final buzzer sounds.

I also think it’s imperative for us to get off to a solid start. Getting down early after losing two straight will be dangerous and a further hit to our psyche.

 

[Cheesebeef]

The shoulder injury did limit Paul's minutes and even when he played when the shoulder issue was fresh, he wasn't a turnover machine. While the shoulder issue was painful, it clearly didn't impact Paul for an extended period of time. Which tells me he was able to find ways to play through it, while not killing the team.
Additionally, we're now in Game 5 of the finals...playing the Bucks, not the Lakers.

Wha? Dude, did you not watch the Lakers series? The shoulder injury didn’t effect Paul? CP3 barely shot the ball, Booker played a lot more with the ball in his hands and when when Paul did shoot, he shot an ugly 38%, ten points below his average.

The shoulder injury didn’t effect him? What playoffs have you been watching?

 

[Strongstyle]

yeah... coming off two consecutive losses after going up 2-0 puts the majority of the pressure on us. It’s a pressure point this team hasn’t yet faced in the postseason and I am excited/nervous to see how we respond.

You could argue we faced it when we were down 1-2 to the Lakers after losing 1 at home and they really responded in that game 4

 

[Cheesebeef]

You could argue we faced it when we were down 1-2 to the Lakers after losing 1 at home and they really responded in that game 4

that’s a good point. That was the only time we even trailed in a series and we responded well. I’m really hopeful we do the same in Game 5.

and for Pete’s sake... is it tomorrow yet?!

 

[Covert Rain]

Just heard some stats. Craig had done a better job covering Middleton than Bridges at the end of the game. Middleton didn't score when matched up against Craig. Middleton's last 9 points he scored were when he was matched up against Bridges.

When Middleton scores 18 or more the Bucks are 12-2. When Middleton shoots below 40% the Buck have won ZERO times.

 

[Vacard]

Just heard some stats. Craig had done a better job covering Middleton than Bridges at the end of the game. Middleton didn't score when matched up against Craig. Middleton's last 9 points he scores were when he was matched up against Bridges.

When Middleton scores 20 or more the Bucks are 12-2. When Middleton shoots below 40% the Buck have won ZERO times.

Craig locked up PG13 in the last Clippers game so I don’t know why they aren’t putting him on Middleton more.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Just heard some stats. Craig had done a better job covering Middleton than Bridges at the end of the game. Middleton didn't score when matched up against Craig. Middleton's last 9 points he scored were when he was matched up against Bridges.

When Middleton scores 20 or more the Bucks are 12-2. When Middleton shoots below 40% the Buck have won ZERO times.

putting Bridges back in late in the game made zero sense to me. The only other player who looked ready for the moment was Cam, who was hitting threes and mid range jumpers.

 

[Covert Rain]

putting Bridges back in late in the game made zero sense to me. The only other player who looked ready for the moment was Cam, who was hitting threes and mid range jumpers.

I didn't realize the impact on wins/losses Middleton had until I heard this stat. This is the finals. If I am Monty, I have a quick hook with Bridges on him if he starts to score. Assuming Giannis is going to get his, it sounds like if you can get Middelton to shoot a crap % your chances are about as high as they get winning the game.

 

[82CardsGrad]

I didn't say that. What I said was Monty admitted that he put Chris out there unhealthy because Chris wanted to give it a go. He was clearly not himself a couple of games. He couldn't dribble and Monty eventually pulled him. Probably should not have been out there. Again, after the ligaments injury if this was any other time or likely any other player Monty would not have played him at least for the next game. This is Chris Paul. His first WCF championship and his first Finals appearance.

There is no way and I mean no way he is treated like the other players. There is no way he keeps Chris out if Chris wants to be out there. He may not be capable of playing up to his standards. That's just a fact. Having said that we may not need him to. He just needs to be competent and we have a chance.

I don't disagree... All I'm saying is that it is squarely on Chris Paul to lead this team to a W tomorrow night. It's what great players and great leaders do. CP3 isn't the first player to have to play through some type of ailment. Again, I question just how much his wrist is contributing to 15 turnovers in his last 3 games. Nevertheless, it doesn't matter. As THE leader of this team and as THE floor-general of this team, it is 100% on him to ensure he is a contributor toward a W, and not the key reason for another loss!

 

[Cheesebeef]

I don't disagree... All I'm saying is that it is squarely on Chris Paul to lead this team to a W tomorrow night. It's what great players and great leaders do. CP3 isn't the first player to have to play through some type of ailment. Again, I question just how much his wrist is contributing to 15 turnovers in his last 3 games. Nevertheless, it doesn't matter. As THE leader of this team and as THE floor-general of this team, it is 100% on him to ensure he is a contributor toward a W, and not the key reason for another loss!

15 turnovers in 3 games is REALLY ugly and just not indicative of how he’s played all season. It’s bizarre. I mean, I don’t even remember him ever throwing a behind the back cross court pass to Crowder happening ONCE in the regular season and he’s done that twice in two games.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Wha? Dude, did you not watch the Lakers series? The shoulder injury didn’t effect Paul? CP3 barely shot the ball, Booker played a lot more with the ball in his hands and when when Paul did shoot, he shot an ugly 38%, ten points below his average.

The shoulder injury didn’t effect him? What playoffs have you been watching?

Can't believe I need to say this yet again to you... are you on a bender these days dude? Damn...
I didn't say the shoulder "didn't effect him." Put your specs on and read this: "The shoulder injury did limit Paul's minutes..." and, "it clearly didn't impact Paul for an extended period of time."

I need to demand that, if you are going to continue to quote me, then quote me. Stop with putting words into my posts that I never said and never even suggested...
Thanks...