Wake up Jabari and Ebled, it’s game 3 and no one has felt your presence

Boston eeked out the first game and handily won the second in this best of seven series. Flat out, they have been the more fundamentally sound team. For instance, 22 second-chance points is the reason why the Bucks shot nearly 60 percent from the field, yet still lost by 14 in Game 2; that’s just unacceptable from the outside looking in.

Jabari Parker (Photo by slamonline.com)

The Bucks need to go small, play Jabari Parker more, but he must prove his worth on defense. Many times it seems like he wants no part of it, not even a little contact. A player like Parker requires minutes and more than 10. In game two he was a ghost, no points, two rebounds and that is not going to get it done against Boston, real talk. Can Prunty get Parker involved early in game 3?

Another big area of concern for Milwaukee is Eric Bledsoe being outplayed handily by Terry Rozier. Rozier is a backup point guard, but a solid player. Ebled has struggled mightily in this series. He is shooting 9-25 and has only dished out eight total assists. If we look at Rozier’s play, he’s shooting 15-32 from the field and has 11 assists. He makes the right decisions, isn’t forcing anything and has been an excellent facilitator in place of Kyrie. This has been the difference up to this point in the series.

Let’s be honest. Bledsoe plays fast and is exciting. But when you drive in the lane quick, you must drive with a purpose. He isn’t doing the best at that, constantly up in the air with very few passing options. The Boston team defense salivates when he does this. This type of basketball in the playoffs will never get the job done.

Let’s hope the Bucks commit to team defense. Watching them play, as opposed to watching the Philadelphia/Miami series is like comparing apples to oranges. Milwaukee, simply put, isn’t on that level. In the playoffs, winning doesn’t involve just offense, you must make your opponent work for their baskets.

If these key players continue to fail to show up, and their defense doesn’t tighten the noose, you are possibly looking at a sweep. Giannis needs more than just his own efforts to get W’s and I believe things will turn around for Milwaukee in game 3. If it doesn’t, this series will be finished soon.

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