2024 NBA Season

[Dave1]

Phoenix Suns are now under some statements that they are a lucky team to enter the Finals as all teams they faced during the playoffs are not healthy and in the upcoming Finals. the situation is still the same.

If only teams played in their healthy lineup, there's no question of what if here.

But on the other hand, they also entered the Finals without a superstar. Chris Paul might be but he is now on his retirement age.

Not sure about that statement though, I don't have the numbers but in every year some superstars got injured so teams are not healthy.

Well initially they are one of the favorites, they have proven it in the regular season when they ended up as the second seed behind Utah Jazz.

I consider Chris Paul superstar, he is the premier guard in the NBA. And then Booker has a break out year, they have Ayton the number 1 overall pick in 2018. So saying that Phoenix is a lucky team this year is an understatement. We can say the same case with Miami last year when they reach the finals that they got lucky too because of the "Bubble" setup.

[rhomelmabini]

Phoenix Suns are now under some statements that they are a lucky team to enter the Finals as all teams they faced during the playoffs are not healthy and in the upcoming Finals. the situation is still the same.

If only teams played in their healthy lineup, there's no question of what if here.

But on the other hand, they also entered the Finals without a superstar. Chris Paul might be but he is now on his retirement age.

I bet they are that lucky but I guess it's more on the perseverance of the whole team, it's always be. Lucky is surely an understatement and I agree to Dave1 and they should prove it all the way up to live on that statement.

Giannis is surely not in his 100% meanwhile the Suns has a healthy lineup and they could dominate this game 1 on their home court now that it's still unclear if Giannis will play.

[TravelMug]

Phoenix Suns are now under some statements that they are a lucky team to enter the Finals as all teams they faced during the playoffs are not healthy and in the upcoming Finals. the situation is still the same.

Lakers was their big test, yes AD and Lebron was not 100% healthy but you can't discount the fact that they really play very hard on that series. And then they sweep Jokic led Denver, I don't think that they are lucky winning 4 straight.

If only teams played in their healthy lineup, there's no question of what if here.

But on the other hand, they also entered the Finals without a superstar. Chris Paul might be but he is now on his retirement age.

Chris Paul is a legit superstar, he himself has face so many injuries in the play-offs. So we can have the same argument with him, what if Paul is healthy on game 6 and 7 against the GSW in 2018 season? Probably those are just haters saying that they got lucky.

[gagux123]

Well, I'm seeing some comments and I'd like to give my opinion too!

It will be an interesting and competitive NBA finals, but several variables need to be analyzed.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is injured and probably not 100% healthy, but the others Bucks players were inspired and played very well without Antetokounmpo, this happened in WCF

The Suns don't have any NBA titles, CP3 has never been an NBA champion, along with Booker and Ayton, I'm sure they will play like it's the last game of their lives, and CP3 is a very experienced player who does a lot of difference in the team, as he is the leader of the Suns.

I believe it's a little bit complicatedto predict who will be the NBA winner, because anything can happen

Another advantage of the Suns is that Game 7 will be in Phoenix

I think the Suns will be champion, 4-3 or 4-2.
But of course what I said is just my humble opinion

By the way, I'm cheering for Suns to be champions 

[OgNasty]

24 hours until the Finals kicks off. Already some drama with Rachel Nichols. That should provide another layer of interest to the broadcast.  I’m curious how healthy Giannis is going to be as I think that’s going to be the key to the series. It’ll also be interesting to see if Ayton can continue his post season dominance down low against the former MVP.

[yazher]

24 hours until the Finals kicks off. Already some drama with Rachel Nichols. That should provide another layer of interest to the broadcast.  I’m curious how healthy Giannis is going to be as I think that’s going to be the key to the series. It’ll also be interesting to see if Ayton can continue his post season dominance down low against the former MVP.

Yeah! can't wait to see the game start with the current hype with these two teams, I'm sure we are back to the old traditions where everyone picks their own team even though their favorite team hasn't made the Finals. It is nice to choose whether who you want to win this NBA championship. That's how things work in this game and thankfully once again we finally see some games that have some real fans that cheer them on their home courts. that would have helped them a lot.

[Reid]

24 hours until the Finals kicks off. Already some drama with Rachel Nichols. That should provide another layer of interest to the broadcast.  I’m curious how healthy Giannis is going to be as I think that’s going to be the key to the series. It’ll also be interesting to see if Ayton can continue his post season dominance down low against the former MVP.

She apologized so I guess that closed the issue. For them. 
Politics and bully in sports anchors. "I'm a veteran, don't step on me. "

Giannis with no structural damage or whatsoever but he is still on the doubtful list even with that status.
He is not forcing it, I like that. He may want to get out in a full healthy position rather than hurting himself again and losing everything.
All he can do now is trust his teammates. Boost them on the sidelines. (he looks really healthy while cheering for the team) 

[rhomelmabini]

24 hours until the Finals kicks off. Already some drama with Rachel Nichols. That should provide another layer of interest to the broadcast.  I’m curious how healthy Giannis is going to be as I think that’s going to be the key to the series. It’ll also be interesting to see if Ayton can continue his post season dominance down low against the former MVP.

I can feel the air is a bit heavier now on fan sides, getting excited again with some friendship being ruined. Nah, I'm just joking but there's some rare case scenarios.

It's still a question but as I said it's for sure not a 100% but it's on his will if he could endure not being one. This is his chance now to grab that ring but I guess Chris Paul has more motivation now he is on his 16th season and it's a longer one compared to Giannis.

[Obito]

I can feel the air is a bit heavier now on fan sides, getting excited again with some friendship being ruined. Nah, I'm just joking but there's some rare case scenarios.

It's still a question but as I said it's for sure not a 100% but it's on his will if he could endure not being one. This is his chance now to grab that ring but I guess Chris Paul has more motivation now he is on his 16th season and it's a longer one compared to Giannis.

Fans that are ending relationships just because they have different teams is a bad fan to be honest if there's one that I know, I will probably punch them in the face. There's a thin line between a fanatic and a casual fan so be careful. I don't think that Chris Paul is the only one that we should be looking out for because I think the Suns did good with this seasons performance, some people just can't accept that it's them that's on the finals.

[MK-74]

My favorite team Phoenix, I think they will be champions if Antetokounmpo doesn't come back. If Antetokounmpo is back everything change. Teams will balance.
Also, I wanna to see CP win the champ.

[danherbias07]

My favorite team Phoenix, I think they will be champions if Antetokounmpo doesn't come back. If Antetokounmpo is back everything change. Teams will balance.
Also, I wanna to see CP win the champ.

I want CP3 to be a champion too. He will retire soon while Giannis is still young and will have a longer run in pursuit of a ring.
But, this Bucks team is never to be messed with. Let's not forget they have defeated an offensive team which is Nets in the semis and even finished a game stopping them at 83 points for the whole 4 quarters.
They can adjust fast when they need to but I think the first win of the Finals will be for the Suns.

[MK-74]

My favorite team Phoenix, I think they will be champions if Antetokounmpo doesn't come back. If Antetokounmpo is back everything change. Teams will balance.
Also, I wanna to see CP win the champ.

I want CP3 to be a champion too. He will retire soon while Giannis is still young and will have a longer run in pursuit of a ring.
But, this Bucks team is never to be messed with. Let's not forget they have defeated an offensive team which is Nets in the semis and even finished a game stopping them at 83 points for the whole 4 quarters.
They can adjust fast when they need to but I think the first win of the Finals will be for the Suns.

Firstly sorry for my english, my english not very well but I think you undestand me.

Yes you're right, Bucks stopped Brooklyn but If Kyrie had not been injured, Brooklyn would have won the series. Harden returned, but his performance wasn't very good. Kevin could only do so much.

[LogitechMouse]

With an injured Gianni who leads his team on offense and defense? I wonder if they can last until game 7 though? Sun's completely dominate all the powerhouse team on West which is stronger to incomplete Bucks.

I think you weren't able to follow how the Milwaukee Bucks adjust when Giannis got injured. His teammates' step up and their offense quite become unpredictable since there are lots of options to make an offense unlike when Giannis is there wherein his moves were predictable but it's just that hard to defend.

Going back in a much harder series against the Brooklyn Nets, you won't see Holiday, Lopez, and the others having consistently good numbers. The offense was purely on Giannis and Middleton only at most games.

I'm not really considering the absence of Giannis as a disadvantage for them.  As of now, I didn't really know who has the upper hand on the series. I will just support my bet though regardless of the team that I will pick on per game basis.

The Bucks could adjust to the most effective strategy even with Giannis on the floor, not having the star player is really a disadvantage but I'm not saying they have no chance of beating the Suns without him. May let's see what will happen in game 1, and find out if it really helps the Bucks not having Giannis in the roster.

The Bucks managed to defeat the Hawks in 2 straight games even though Giannis didn't play. I'm not saying that the Hawks are not a good team but what I'm saying is that, they can make some adjustments base on their players and what their opponents are. Adjustments are playing big role in playoffs that is why the Bucks won.

Even without Giannis, their frontcourt are still formidable. The combination of Lopez and Portis seems to be working and also add Tucker as their SF which is a good defender. Giannis will not play in Game 1 but I don't think that this will be an easy win for the Suns.

Jrue Vs. CP3. Middleton Vs. Booker and Ayton Vs. Lopez . I'm excited to watch this game tomorrow .

[arwin100]

With an injured Gianni who leads his team on offense and defense? I wonder if they can last until game 7 though? Sun's completely dominate all the powerhouse team on West which is stronger to incomplete Bucks.

I think you weren't able to follow how the Milwaukee Bucks adjust when Giannis got injured. His teammates' step up and their offense quite become unpredictable since there are lots of options to make an offense unlike when Giannis is there wherein his moves were predictable but it's just that hard to defend.

Going back in a much harder series against the Brooklyn Nets, you won't see Holiday, Lopez, and the others having consistently good numbers. The offense was purely on Giannis and Middleton only at most games.

I'm not really considering the absence of Giannis as a disadvantage for them.  As of now, I didn't really know who has the upper hand on the series. I will just support my bet though regardless of the team that I will pick on per game basis.

The Bucks could adjust to the most effective strategy even with Giannis on the floor, not having the star player is really a disadvantage but I'm not saying they have no chance of beating the Suns without him. May let's see what will happen in game 1, and find out if it really helps the Bucks not having Giannis in the roster.

The Bucks managed to defeat the Hawks in 2 straight games even though Giannis didn't play. I'm not saying that the Hawks are not a good team but what I'm saying is that, they can make some adjustments base on their players and what their opponents are. Adjustments are playing big role in playoffs that is why the Bucks won.

Even without Giannis, their frontcourt are still formidable. The combination of Lopez and Portis seems to be working and also add Tucker as their SF which is a good defender. Giannis will not play in Game 1 but I don't think that this will be an easy win for the Suns.

Jrue Vs. CP3. Middleton Vs. Booker and Ayton Vs. Lopez . I'm excited to watch this game tomorrow .

This is not surprising since they still have solid rooster compare to hawks and they really got in trouble when trae  got injured.

But just wondering if they can do this again on Suns since this team are so hot this season and they come to this far unexpectedly, I'm also excited to see on what will happen tomorrow since this is a good match to see but it also good to see if Giannis will play on Game 1 since this bring more excitement to the game.

[Reid]

Even without Giannis, their frontcourt are still formidable. The combination of Lopez and Portis seems to be working and also add Tucker as their SF which is a good defender. Giannis will not play in Game 1 but I don't think that this will be an easy win for the Suns.

Jrue Vs. CP3. Middleton Vs. Booker and Ayton Vs. Lopez . I'm excited to watch this game tomorrow .

The same goes for me.
Bucks managing to win without their superstar is something to be proud about by their roleplayers.
I bet Giannis is so much happy that he could leave the team knowing the bench will always step up their game if needed.
He may not look like a leader but I think he is. I think Jrue was the best trade they made from the 4-way deal.
Hello, Eric Bledsoe.
Fun fact: Eric Bledsoe played 5 years for the Suns then 3 years for the Bucks.  
You might want to check the memes.

[ILuckyGuyI]

We are going to dive directly into the first game of the final series tonight.

Suns vs Bucks... Who would've thought at the beginning of the season that these two teams would promote to the final? I was expecting a final series between LA Lakers and Brooklyn Nets. It'd be really awesome but here we're.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/injuries/

According to this source, Giannis's condition is going to be clear when the game time comes. I hope that he can start playing again in the first game. Bucks really need him to compete better against Suns. They have a really tough opponent that's for sure. My favourite team in this series are Bucks. Maybe they're not given too much chance but they can make it I believe.

[freedomgo]

We are going to dive directly into the first game of the final series tonight.

Suns vs Bucks... Who would've thought at the beginning of the season that these two teams would promote to the final? I was expecting a final series between LA Lakers and Brooklyn Nets. It'd be really awesome but here we're.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/injuries/

According to this source, Giannis's condition is going to be clear when the game time comes. I hope that he can start playing again in the first game. Bucks really need him to compete better against Suns. They have a really tough opponent that's for sure. My favourite team in this series are Bucks. Maybe they're not given too much chance but they can make it I believe.

If he is likely to play in game 1, that's good news because even if he will not play, we can expect him to be back in game 2 at least. It's very exciting, I'm sure Giannis had enough time to rest already and his teammates as well, and they will be ready in game 1 of the NBA Finals.

[bisdak40]

We are going to dive directly into the first game of the final series tonight.

Suns vs Bucks... Who would've thought at the beginning of the season that these two teams would promote to the final? I was expecting a final series between LA Lakers and Brooklyn Nets. It'd be really awesome but here we're.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/injuries/

According to this source, Giannis's condition is going to be clear when the game time comes. I hope that he can start playing again in the first game. Bucks really need him to compete better against Suns. They have a really tough opponent that's for sure. My favourite team in this series are Bucks. Maybe they're not given too much chance but they can make it I believe.

If he is likely to play in game 1, that's good news because even if he will not play, we can expect him to be back in game 2 at least. It's very exciting, I'm sure Giannis had enough time to rest already and his teammates as well, and they will be ready in game 1 of the NBA Finals.

I'll be betting for the Bucks because of the attractive odds at the moment @3.01 plus the fact that even if Giannis is out, Middleton and the rest are very capable in beating the Suns in game1, the game where both teams are in the feeling-out/adjusting.

If Giannis would be back then they will be a slight favorite which for me is some kind of a trap as he will not be 100 percent and he might be a liability in defense rather than an asset. Hope they will not force him to play until game3.

[freedomgo]

We are going to dive directly into the first game of the final series tonight.

Suns vs Bucks... Who would've thought at the beginning of the season that these two teams would promote to the final? I was expecting a final series between LA Lakers and Brooklyn Nets. It'd be really awesome but here we're.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/injuries/

According to this source, Giannis's condition is going to be clear when the game time comes. I hope that he can start playing again in the first game. Bucks really need him to compete better against Suns. They have a really tough opponent that's for sure. My favourite team in this series are Bucks. Maybe they're not given too much chance but they can make it I believe.

If he is likely to play in game 1, that's good news because even if he will not play, we can expect him to be back in game 2 at least. It's very exciting, I'm sure Giannis had enough time to rest already and his teammates as well, and they will be ready in game 1 of the NBA Finals.

I'll be betting for the Bucks because of the attractive odds at the moment @3.01 plus the fact that even if Giannis is out, Middleton and the rest are very capable in beating the Suns in game1, the game where both teams are in the feeling-out/adjusting.

If Giannis would be back then they will be a slight favorite which for me is some kind of a trap as he will not be 100 percent and he might be a liability in defense rather than an asset. Hope they will not force him to play until game3.

You got balls man, good luck on your bet, whether Giannis is in or out in game 1, the Bucks are still a dangerous team and they could always give the Suns some trouble. I like your reason for betting on the Bucks and I'm happy to hear that because I got Bucks to win in the series.

[Oasisman]

I'll be betting for the Bucks because of the attractive odds at the moment @3.01 plus the fact that even if Giannis is out, Middleton and the rest are very capable in beating the Suns in game1, the game where both teams are in the feeling-out/adjusting.

It's even more attractive now because the spread has become higher for the Bucks +6.5.
Giannis is doubtful to play in game 1. But It would be better for him sit in the first game to allow himself heal enough to be able to play at full capacity in this Finals series.

6.5 spread is really attractive to bet for the Bucks. I have a feeling that Lopez can contain Ayton down the paint, while Tucker will lockdown Booker on a physical defense. The physicality that Booker got against Beverly might be doubled as Tucker is tougher and bigger than Pat Bev lol.
And finally, If Middleton shoots a high fg percentage, the Bucks won't be struggling in game 1.

So, the key players for the Bucks in game 1 to win is Middleton, Tucker, and Lopez.