I stand corrected. I thought the Bucks would be dumped out of the playoffs in the second round. They exceeded my expectations. Bud - I believe - saved his job. Or, I should say, the players saved his job for him.
Here's things I saw last night. Some kind of strange.
The Nets bench didn't score one point. In fact, they never took a shot, or a free throw. Their total contribution was 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 fouls. Meanwhile, the Bucks bench support was Connaughton who was 3 for 5 from 3 point range, had 4 rebounds, and 2 fouls. The rest of the Bucks bench had 1 rebound, and 1 foul. Nothing else. Both teams went old-school 45+ minutes each.
Holiday, Giannis, and Middleton were a combined 6-22 from 3 point range. Tucker, Lopez, and Connaughton were 9-14, to take up the slack. A respectible 42% for the team. The Nets were at 31%. Harden being 2-12 from out there helped the Bucks. He couldn't get it to drop.
I think the Bucks can beat either Philadelphia or Atlanta in the East finals. In a way, I'd like to see them play the Clippers in the finals. The Bucks have a score to settle with Kawhi Leonard, after their loss to him and Toronto, two years ago. But first, the winner of today's game is on the docket.