CP having big statistical series is very dependent on the other team having a traditional big that can't really trap/switch for him to exploit. Celts/Heat just are the total opposite of that. They have 2 of the top 5 defensive bigs in the league. As great as he is, he's a very matchup dependent player in that sense......Granted he can still be effective but harder to see him being their best offensive player (and CP/Booker is basically just a who is the best offensive player contest) in a finals win.
Jokic, Valancuinas, Zubac...Lopez to a lesser extent......CP is great at taking out the low hanging fruit in those matchups.
These are the bigs he has seen in recent playoff series.
Ayton chances would be underrated though. Celts/Heat switch a lot and one thing that has really rejuvenated CP is that you can't switch vs Ayton because he BBQ's the switch in the post.
Celts/Heat vs Suns you're talking totals not much higher than 205-210ish, could see Ayton going 20-10 w/ good defense (neither the Heat or the Celts have the type of small screen roll guards that he can struggle against away from the basket) and winning.
I'll probably bet Booker/Ayton and fade CP. Think that is an inefficiency.
There’s a perception out there that Milwaukee is an elite defensive team. Reality is they’re not
14th in defensive rating this year; Boston is 1st in that category
For perspective Milwaukee was 9th last season; they didn’t face a top 10 defense in the playoffs last year until the finals (PHX was 6th)
So this will be a test for them , especially with Middleton out
GL
14th in defensive rating this year; Boston is 1st in that category
For perspective Milwaukee was 9th last season; they didn’t face a top 10 defense in the playoffs last year until the finals (PHX was 6th)
So this will be a test for them , especially with Middleton out
GL
