Giannis Antetokounmpo will he play this evening (1:00 a.m.) for Game 1 between the Bucks and the Pacers? For the moment, the “Greek Freak” is “doubtful”, which means that he still has little chance of being present.
Moreover, Doc Rivers spent the week preparing his players for the confrontation without his leader. For the coach, the main objective for Damian Lillard and company is above all to keep the ball alive!
“We simply cannot stand still” explains the coach at The Athletic. “Same with Giannis. When we freeze, we have proven over the years that we are not good offensively. But when the ball moves, it's there and then we send it there, then weak side, or we go to the next option, we showed that we can be really, really good. So that's what we have to do. »
The move to destabilize the Pacers
As the Bucks will undoubtedly not be able to count on the striking force of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the paint for the start of the series, they will have to destabilize the Pacers defense in other ways.
“If we have an open shot, we have to take it, whether it’s Dame (Lillard) or Khris (Middleton)” summarizes Pat Connaughton. “But (Rick) Carlisle probably won't give us open shots on the first play. »
Hence the importance of not freezing the attack and keeping the ball alive as much as possible, especially since the opposing defense is not the most airtight in the league. Indiana is thus only 24th in terms of defensive efficiency over the entire season, with certainly some progress (18th) since the arrival of Pascal Siakam during the campaign.
“We have to make sure we move on to the next option and use our basketball IQ to understand what that second option is for. Obviously, we want to be aggressive when we set it up, and score when we use it. But if we can move on to the third option, it’s even harder to defend” concludes the replacement full-back/winger.
