Excellent game against the Nets. I thought about Harden. Would he have made the difference for the Nets? My reaction is mixed. Yes. He would make a difference. No. There's only so many shots to go around, and the shots he'd take would have been those others had taken.
The Nets were 20-43 from 3 point range, and hit nearly 50% of their shots from the floor. Stick Harden in that line up and you may get a few more points, but still, the Bucks could prevail.
Where the Bucks won it was on the boards, no doubt about it. They out rebounded the Nets by 16 boards, and that's a lot of second chances the Nets didn't get. It also gave the Bucks 14 more shots, and even though they only made 3 of them, it was the difference maker.
It was impressive. I don't think there's any doubt this team is better, talent wise, than last year. I just don't see them as being cohesive enough as a unit, to go all the way. They have too many mental lapses. They had it happen during the last 3 minutes of last night's game. It started when Giannis threw up a 3 when they should have been running the clock, and it continued with shoddy play by basically all of them on the floor until they finally got it under control again with under a minute left. They could have blown the game.
It was good seeing Bud get in Giannis grill, telling him he had to cool down when he was mad. Getting a suspension for going at anyone on the floor is never a wise decision. Giannis listened, and took a seat. It's good that he takes to coaching so well. I hope it stays that way.