Brooklyn Nets: 4 playoff takeaways from victory over Milwaukee Bucks

Even while assembling their most depleted squad since the notorious 2016-17 media day photograph, the Brooklyn Nets managed to defeat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the first place Milwaukee Bucks.

Once the game’s concluding buzzer went off, even Tyler Johnson, Chris Chiozza, and the other Brooklyn Nets looked shocked, briefly puttering around with puzzled faces unsure if their team assembled almost entirely with reserve players had really just knocked off the NBA’s winningest squad.

When the news broke earlier detailing how Joe Harris, Caris LeVert, and Jarrett Allen would be skipping Brooklyn’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, BK’s already-low chance to take down the Cream City immediately plummeted, shaping this game as an opportunity for despair … or for Brooklyn’s most improbable win since the dark days following the team’s reconstruction after the Billy King era.

Exhausted players who glanced upwards saw a 119-116 score favored their way flash across the big board, verifying an unforgettable victory for Nets fans, and for those who, until the game ended, seemed more like forgettable components to a forgettable season. With a career high 26 points, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot led the team nearly all the way through to the end until fouling out during the game’s final few minutes. Chiozza also served as an unstoppable creator all night, often driving with ease before whipping the ball out to an open shooter. Finishing with 10 points alongside a career high 10 assists, Chiozza essentially served as an undying spark from buzzer to buzzer.

But during the game’s most dire moment, veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple stepped up huge, sinking a mid-range shot to extend Brooklyn’s lead by three points with only six seconds remaining. Temple finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, all the while fixing his 3-point shot after struggling mightily with it during the team’s first two games of the restart.

What makes this incredible victory for the Nets lies ahead rather than behind us, though, as the Bucks remain the most likely opponent to meet the Nets once the NBA playoffs begin 13 days from now. Looking ahead to postseason play, one might want to conclude the excitement following today’s game with these four takeaways.

4. Ball Movement

With essentially no star player or bonafide number one option, the Nets clearly lacked anyone deserving anything resembling an isolation role offensively, except potentially Jamal Crawford before he left the game with a hamstring injury. But resulting from what at first seemed like serious potential handicap for the team, the Nets neglected to make any singular player a focal point, playing more freely from an offensive angle and establishing the necessary ball movement to help them go toe-to-toe with the league’s winningest team.

Freely whipping the ball around to each other, the Nets put up an astonishing 73 first half points against the NBA’s highest-rated defensive team. Also helping them pour in 23 3-pointers, which tied for the most by a Nets team all season, Brooklyn’s passing helped them free up opportunities for shooters with ease as they continued to run their offense far more fluently than during their first two games by noticeable levels. Chiozza certainly deserves credit with his ability to drive and kick, but Jacque Vaughn deserves a nod as well, having restructured the Nets properly to play without any true offensive threat.

Now make no mistake, this does not endorse a future for the Nets which fails to include LeVert, Harris, or Allen during any future games agains the Bucks or anyone else. Instead, Brooklyn might aim to just apply these tendencies illustrated by their Buck-slaying squad while playing with their typical starters present. Although he continues to dazzle with his isolation plays, LeVert might want to spread the ball out more, trust his teammates, and opt against playing “hero ball” from time to time. Harris already appears as a likely candidate to benefit from this, as nobody on the team shoots from beyond the arc better than him.

As we all know, some nights shooters pipe up with heat, and other nights they endure devastating cold streaks. Against the Bucks, almost the entire team stayed hot from deep, but the next time around, things might turn south instead. Due to this, LeVert’s ability to create his own shot still comes with incredible value. But engaging offensively this way should operate as only a second-tier option for the team, only implemented if the team’s ball-movement and/or shooting fails to work effectively.

3. Getting Into Giannis’ Head?

Captured by a team assembled with almost entirely younger players, counted out by almost everyone, having fun, surpassing expectations, and bothering even the league’s best teams…Brooklyn’s win over Milwaukee truly felt like a game from last year’s squad.

Donta Hall’s energy and its effect on Giannis Antetokounmpo most certainly played a hand in that.

Eerily resembling Jared Dudley’s funny yet effective jarring against Ben Simmons during the playoffs last year, Hall nearly started a fight after throwing the Greek Freak to the ground while the two battled down low for a rebound during the game’s early stages.

Antetokounmpo, who rarely shows much emotion to begin with, popped up and retaliated at Hall by barking out some language which appeared vulgar, only to provoke a tantalizing smirk across Hall’s face.

Both players notched double personal fouls, and the chipping died down shortly thereafter, but the aggressiveness displayed by the Nets, combined with their overall irritating presence as a team, somehow contending with and refusing to back down to Antetokounmpo, helped BK gain a slight edge. This factor helped the Nets keep the game’s momentum almost the entire time. Due to the win itself, along with its notoriety, expect that same momentum and energy to carry over into any potential playoff matchup against Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.

Almost nobody ever manages to get under Antetokounmpo’s skin, but Hall already accomplished this. So during the playoffs, if Hall were convert an and-one over him or perhaps lure him into a charge, he just might find his way back inside Antetokounmpo’s head and look to throw him off. Every team needs an energy guy, always ready to play the psychological side, and bother the opponent upstairs. Especially during the playoffs. Maybe the Nets found their guy in the scrap heap?

2. Keep an Eye on Jamal Crawford

We only saw Jamal Crawford play six minutes, but during that brief stint, he looked fantastic at the offensive end, eventually adding further salt to the wound when he reflected upon his likely unavailability going forward.

Crawford entered the game, and immediately created some space for himself thanks to his trademark shake-and-bake crossover. While driving, he dished ball to a cutting Hall for an open dunk, and then, on the next possession, knocked down a three while moving in transition.

https://twitter.com/BrooklynNets/status/1290713589138022404?s=20

Crawford finished with just three assists and five points, as he exited shortly thereafter, but those who watched Brooklyn’s first two games noticed how substantially he affected the offense while on the floor, helping generate space and opening things up.

Chiozza accomplished this as well on Tuesday, but to ignore Crawford’s own ability to create feels ignorant and potentially harmful, given the team’s ongoing look for help from essentially anyone at this point.

Unfortunately, however, the odds against a 40-year old hamstring stand tall, especially once one considers how carefully the Nets worked Crawford into their system to begin with prior to this point. But at least keeping a tab on Crawford still feels like a solid plan going forward, as his risk/reward ratio still appears incredibly favorable. Furthermore, his presence as a veteran during a playoff series against a team like the Bucks deserves some consideration as well.

If the Nets manage to build Crawford back up come playoff time, his brief yet notable success against Milwaukee might evolve into more fruitfulness for the Nets, so just hang onto him for now.

1. How Much of this Really Matters?

It feels hard to check yourself while riding the momentum after a win like this, and given everything that happened to this team over the last few months, fans indeed deserve to celebrate this victory.

But at the same time, nobody wants to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

Although the Nets played without Allen, Harris, and LeVert, the Bucks also sat Brook Lopez, who averages 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. Furthermore, Milwaukee also sat Antetokounmpo and All-Star Khris Middleton during the game’s second half. While the win still stands as an incredibly impressive accomplishment, it came against a half-speed Milwaukee effort, while also offering the Nets very few opportunities to scout their future opponents.

This especially will hurt a player like Allen, who missed out on an opportunity to size up Lopez before the two square off during the playoffs. Lopez, a seasoned and experienced big, strikes one as someone far less likely to benefit from a “warm up” game against Allen than vice versa, as Allen’s inexperience still manages to hold him back a bit as a third-year player.

With that considered, to take this win as any reason to favor Brooklyn’s chances over Milwaukee’s during a playoff series stands as an incredibly naive and, quite frankly, thoughtless dissertation.

The Bucks still hold the reigning and most likely future MVP at their dispose, as well as 22 additional wins compared to the Nets. As stated earlier, indulging in this victory comes as no crime by any means, but to do so to an extent that somehow forces the Nets to underestimate their opponent remains the last thing this “sticks and stones”-based team needs right now.

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