Why Damian Lillard & the Bucks’ Game 1 blowout shouldn’t be a surprise | Good Word with Goodwill
Yahoo Sports senior NBA reporter Vincent Goodwill is joined by Amin Elhassan to discuss Milwaukee’s monster performance in the series opener against Indiana and why they’re primed for playoff success. Hear the full conversation on “Good Word with Goodwill” - part of the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
AMIN ELHASSAN: I want to make it clear to everybody that I am not saying that everything is fixed for the Bucks. But before the series and before the playoffs started, I've been saying, I think the Bucks are going to do a lot better than people expect them to. I was shocked to see how many people have the Pacers winning the series. And I said, what do you mean? They said, well, Giannis isn't playing. I'm like, I don't think you guys understand exactly how the playoffs work.
Vinny, as you know, when you get to the playoffs-- when you play in the regular season, every day, you're playing a different team. So every day, we're talking about a different kind of opponent, a different scout, whatever. We have our base defense that we run against everybody. We might tweak it here and there for some special cases. But for the most part, we do everything the same-- one size fits all.
VINCENT GOODWILL: Right.
AMIN ELHASSAN: We get to the playoffs, everything is now tailor made. And so for a veteran team to be told for a week in advance, hey, we're guarding every pick and roll like this. Hey, we're doing switches like this every single time. Offensively, this is what we're going. These are our points of emphasis. There is a comfort in that routine that for a young team, they don't know what the hell-- they're just out there playing.
VINCENT GOODWILL: Right.
AMIN ELHASSAN: So game one's result did not surprise me. But more importantly, the fact that Damian Lillard, who has looked uncomfortable and out of place and fish out of water for the entire regular season, all of a sudden, look like Roy Jones Jr. talking about, y'all must have forgot. Like, yeah, man, this dude, when you put him in this environment, this is home for him.
And here's the other part, with no Giannis, Dame can do what Dame has always been able to do. Oh, this is all on me? I can take all the shots to find my rhythm? I can play at my pace. You guys are going to dance to my music. Cool.
But here's the thing, I mean, about the Pacers. A, I don't know if teams can keep up that pace in playoff basketball, for one. Like, traditionally, the game always slows down. B, since Tyrese Haliburton's hamstring injury that he kind of came back from or rushed back from because he went to make sure he could still be in line for that Supermax extension, he has not been the same dude. Outside of Pascal Siakam, Milestone has been in the playoffs. Milestone has also never been out of the first round.
So there's just an element of like, these guys are all trying to figure this thing out. Whereas, the Bucks have a bunch of dudes who have figured it out multiple times throughout their career. Like, the playoffs always-- barring a massive talent gap, the playoffs will always prefer or give preference to the veteran team.