Phoenix being aggressive on offense was rewarded with free-throws
Free-throws win championships and they got the Suns one game closer to winning a championship in Game 1 of this series. Phoenix shot 25-26 from the free-throw line and they even made their first 25 free-throw attempts! They made 16 more free-throws than the Bucks and shot 10 more shots than the Bucks from the charity stripe.
This right here was a huge factor in why the Suns were successful in Game 1. Devin Booker was the main catalyst for getting to the line for Phoenix, as he went 10-10 from the line, but six different Suns’ players shot free-throws on Tuesday night compared to Milwaukee only getting three guys to the line.
Going back to the previous takeaway, one of the biggest reasons the Suns were so successful from the free-throw line in Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals was because they were able to attack the Bucks’ big guys. Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis became huge liabilities for the Bucks defensively, which forced them to turn to a smaller lineup.
As a result, this left Giannis, who can be foul-prone at times, as the lone big man on the floor for the Bucks and the Suns exploited this. They attacked rotational guys like Pat Connaughton and Bryn Forbes who came in for Milwaukee’s bigs and Phoenix even found success attacking Antetokounmpo who seemed to be alright given his knee injury, but was still playing injured.
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Knowing that he is not at 100% and that he is still a little hobbled, the Suns attacked Antetokounmpo’s weak side, resulting in him picking up five personal fouls over the course of the game and sending Phoenix to the line frequently.
It will be very interesting to see how Game 2 is officiated and a key thing to watch will be how the Bucks adjust to try and keep the Suns out of the paint. Time and time again, Phoenix attacked and exposed the Bucks on the interior, which resulted in them getting fouled and sent to the free-throw line.
The Suns have proven that they are more than capable of making virtually all of their free-throw attempts, so if the Bucks are going to get back in this series and possibly win a championship, they are not only going to have to try and limit the Suns getting to the line, but they must find ways to keep them from driving downhill towards the rim.
