The NBA Finals Recap of game 1 and 2 – Suns Up 2-0 Despite Giannis Dominance

The NBA Finals have been nothing but thrilling thus far. Through two games, the Phoenix Suns are up 2-0 on the Milwaukee Bucks. Chris Paul is two wins away from his very first championship. Also, Devin Booker is establishing himself as an all time great playoff performer after just one post season run. Booker has put up 29 points a game this finals and is establishing himself as one of the best in today’s NBA. Deandre Ayton is being a force on the inside, CP3 is putting up his resume for finals MVP and Giannis on one leg is putting up historic numbers.

NBA ratings

To begin with, the average fan thought these NBA finals were not going to be fun. No big name teams, so why would it be? The NBA finals are up in ratings compared to the 2020 bubble but historically down about 36% from the 2019 finals. No big market names, that tends to happen, but the quality of basketball being played is phenomenal. Game one ratings were at 8.5.million viewers which is up about 1.1 million from 2020 but down about 4.8 million from 2019.

My personal opinion is that some people truly do not care about the game of basketball. They just want to be entertained and watch a good game. If they do not see the big names on the biggest stage the NBA has to offer, I understand why ratings would be down. Although, the games have been thrilling, going down to the wire each time with the Suns pulling away.

Game 1 of the NBA finals

To continue, game one featured a battle in the first half with the Suns taking an eight point lead going into the half. Eventually, the Suns pulled away in the third leading into the fourth with a 16 point lead. The Suns ended up taking game one. The final score was 118-105. History was made by two players in particular. Since 1999 when Tim Duncan made his NBA finals debut putting up at least 15 points and 15 rebounds, it happened twice in game one.

Giannis and Deandre Ayton each established their presence in game one. Ayton finished the game with 22 points, 19 rebounds, 100% from the free throw line and 80% from the field. Ayton is having a historical postseason in terms of field goal percentage. He is on pace to have the highest field goal percentage in post season history.

Giannis, a legend in the making. Giannis put up 20 points and 17 rebounds. Being on one leg, Giannis was still able to dominate the game how he usually does. The problem is the second and third option on the Bucks. The two guys that were handed extensions this past off-season. Middleton was able to put up 29 points but with 26 shots taken. Jrue Holiday looked as if he saw a ghost and was too nervous for the moment. Ten points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Jrue did a little of everything but shot an abysmal 28%.

Game 2 of the NBA finals

In addition, game two of the NBA finals featured the same exact result. A back and fourth game until the Suns pulled away. Giannis went on his own personal scoring run in the third quarter and cut the lead to five. Then, Giannis went to the bench for a breath and the lead went right back to ten. This cannot happen when your franchise player goes to the bench. This game falls on the shoulders of Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. Middleton relies on his jumpshot heavily, so when it is not falling, he is an offensive liability. Middleton shot 5-16 from the field. His plus/minus was at -15.

Then, you have Jrue Holiday. He shot 7-21 from the field with a plus/minus of -3. As the second and third option, it is unacceptable to perform like this in the NBA finals. Giannis is setting history in his first NBA finals and needs help. We all saw the years LeBron took the Cavs to the finals and could not get the job done because of having no help. Khris and Jrue have combined to shoot 28-77 in the first two games.

Onto the Suns and the superstar Devin Booker. CP3 is doing his thing and leading the way to capture finals MVP in my opinion. Devin Booker is right behind him with another historic performance in game two. Booker became the fourth player in the last 25 years under the age of 25 to put up a stat line of 30/5/5. The other three are Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Russell Westbrook. Booker finished game two with 31 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Booker is also on pace to have the most points ever in a player’s first postseason. The record is held by Rick Barry at 521 points and Booker has 490.

Final thoughts

All in all, if Middleton and Jrue do not step it up with their offense, this series is over in five games. Giannis is giving it his all and is not even at 100%. My prediction is that the Bucks figure it out and go back to Phoenix with the series all tied up. I am still rocking with the Bucks in seven games.