In defeating the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Milwaukee Bucks punched their ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1973-74.
Their opponent? The Phoenix Suns, who defeated the LA Clippers in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1992-93.
It’s going to be a battle between two of the best teams in the league this season, one that will feature four multi-time All-Stars in Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, as well as some of the league’s best defenders, including two-time All-Defensive First Team selection Jrue Holiday and Mikal Bridges.
From Antetokounmpo’s success against the Suns during the regular season to where both of these teams excel, here are five stats that loom large entering the 2021 NBA Finals.
40.0: Antetokounmpo’s scoring average against Phoenix in regular season
Antetokounmpo put up some big numbers against the Suns this season.
In the first meeting between Milwaukee and Phoenix, Antetokounmpo exploded for 47 points, 11 rebounds and five assists on 15-for-23 shooting from the field and 17-for-21 from the free throw line. The result? A one-point win for the Suns, who were led by Booker’s 30 points.
Antetokounmpo was a little quieter in the second meeting, but he still finished with 33 points and eight assists on 12-for-22 shooting from the field and 9-for-10 from the free throw line, once again coming in a one-point loss.
Averaging 40.0 points over those two games, it made for Antetokounmpo’s highest scoring output against an opponent on the season.
Antetokounmpo did the bulk of his scoring in the paint against the Suns, going 21-for-28 (75.0 percent) in the restricted area. He was 6-for-17 (35.3 percent) from everywhere else.
Despite Antetokounmpo’s gaudy averages, the numbers point to Ayton actually doing a good job against him, limiting the two-time MVP to 34 points on 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) shooting from the field. Antetokounmpo did a lot of his damage from the free throw line against Ayton, drawing seven shooting fouls and making him pay by going a perfect 14-for-14 from the charity stripe.
Ayton isn’t a big-time rim protector, but he’s a smart defender who matches up well physically with Antetokounmpo. He’s also shown that he can hold his own against some of the league’s biggest stars in these playoffs, having defended Anthony Davis in the first round and Nikola Jokic in the second round.
Jae Crowder defended Antetokounmpo the second-most on the Suns. The results weren’t great – Antetokounmpo scored 15 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the field, per the matchup data – but Crowder was able to give him some trouble in the 2020 NBA Playoffs, when he was Heat‘s primary defender on Antetokounmpo in Miami’s stunning second-round win over Milwaukee.
That experience could come in handy in the Finals.
Of course, this comes with the caveat that we still don’t know much about Antetokounmpo’s condition after he hyperextended his left knee in the previous round.
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, there was “belief” that Antetokounmpo would’ve been able to play in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals had the Hawks extended the series. Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said that they’re approaching Antetokounmpo’s availability for the Finals as a “day-to-day” thing.
If he is able to play, it’ll be interesting to see if Antetokounmpo’s success against the Suns in the regular season carries over into the Finals.
123.0: Milwaukee’s offensive rating in Game 5 and Game 6 vs. Hawks
The good news for the Bucks? They were able to take care of business against the Hawks without Antetokounmpo.
Their defence slipped – more on that in a minute – but the Bucks scored at a high level in the two games Antetokounmpo had to sit out, putting up 123 points in Game 5 and 118 points in Game 6.
Brook Lopez starred in Game 5 with a playoff career-high 33 points, but Holiday (25), Middleton (26) and Bobby Portis (22) each scored in double-figures.
In Game 6, it was Middleton who stole the show with 32 points, 23 of which came in the third quarter alone. Holiday was Milwaukee’s second-leading scorer, posting 27 points to go along with nine rebounds, nine assists, four steals and two blocks.
That almost certainly isn’t sustainable – the Brooklyn Nets led the league during the regular season with an offensive rating of 117.3, need you be reminded – but the Bucks are going to need Middleton, Holiday and Lopez to continue stepping up in a big way if Antetokounmpo is limited in any way or isn’t able to go.
89: How many shots Paul and Booker have made from midrange in the playoffs
Paul and Booker are two of the best midrange shooters in the league.
During the regular season, nobody made more shots from midrange than Paul (197). In second place was Julius Randle (171), followed by Brandon Ingram (169) in third and Booker (168) in fourth.
Entering the Finals, the only player who has made more shots from midrange than Paul (45) in the playoffs is Kevin Durant (57). Booker (44) is once again not far behind, ranking third.
Together, Paul and Booker are 89-for-199 (44.7 percent) from midrange in these playoffs.
The reason that’s notable: Milwaukee will usually live with its opponents shooting from midrange.
According to NBA.com, teams attempted 14.1 midrange shots per game against the Bucks in the regular season. The only team that gave up more? The Washington Wizards (14.6). It’s been a similar story in the playoffs. The Bucks are allowing 15.6 midrange shots per game through three rounds, putting them behind the Philadelphia 76ers (16.9), Denver Nuggets (15.8) and Wizards (15.8) for most in the league.
Whether it’s Lopez, Portis or Antetokounmpo, the Bucks like to have their bigs drop to the paint so that they can protect the basket.
It’s worth noting that the Bucks have shown more of a willingness to adapt this season, especially when it comes to switching. They were even switching Lopez aggressively onto Atlanta’s guards in the last two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, and he held up pretty well.
The Bucks will almost certainly mix up their coverages throughout the series, but the midrange will still be an incredibly important battleground.
Speaking of defence…
105.0: Milwaukee’s defensive rating in the playoffs
The Bucks are holding their opponent to 105.0 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs. Not only is that a pretty big jump from what they posted in the regular season – 110.7, ranking them ninth overall – it’s the best defensive rating in the league.
The Suns, meanwhile, are holding their opponent to 106.7 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs, up from 110.4 in the regular season, giving them the … second-best defensive rating in the league.
Milwaukee and Phoenix haven’t been quite as sharp on the other end of the court. According to NBA.com, the Suns currently rank 10th in offensive efficiency (113.6) while the Bucks rank 11th (111.2) for the playoffs.
Both the Bucks and Suns still have plenty of offensive firepower, but this series has the makings of a defensive showdown.
1: How many players on the Suns and Bucks have been to the Finals before
The one player from both teams who has been to the Finals before? Crowder, who made his Finals debut last season when he went to six games with LeBron James, Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers as a member of the Heat.
There isn’t another player in this series who has appeared in even one Finals game before.
NBA Finals experience:
6 games – Jae Crowder 0 games – Everyone else combined
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.
WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).
Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.
“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.
“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.
Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.
Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.
Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.
The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.
Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.
The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.
WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.
The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.
Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);
Backs
Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
