National Basketball Association

Can Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks regroup in the NBA Finals?

Updated Jul. 30, 2021 8:15 a.m. ET

With Game 1 of the NBA Finals in the books, where do both teams go from here?

Well, the Phoenix Suns are in the driver's seat following their 118-105 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, leaving Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. to presumably make the necessary adjustments.

Suns point guard Chris Paul, in particular, presented the Bucks with a series of headaches, scoring a game-high 32 points on 63.2% shooting Tuesday.

In his postgame comments, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer indicated that slowing down CP3 would be one of the focal points for his team ahead of Game 2.

"Their pick-and-roll game is tough to guard," Budenholzer said. "So I think we have to just keep getting better. We'll look at the film and see how we can maybe take away some of the rhythm or make it where he's not getting into his spots as easily. That will be a big part of looking between Game 1 and Game 2."

Paul's regular pick-and-roll partner, center Deandre Ayton, rattled off 22 points and hauled in 19 rebounds for the Suns in Game 1. The other member of Phoenix's blossoming "Big 3," Devin Booker, clocked in with 27 points.

In total, six Suns players hit double digits in points. Contrast that with just four Bucks players crossing that threshold ⁠— Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton ⁠— and there's seemingly plenty of room for improvement.

Perhaps that's why Nick Wright of "First Things First" isn't rushing to hit the panic button.

To Wright's way of thinking, the Bucks should actually feel better than the Suns after Game 1, despite taking the loss. That's because Antetokounmpo not only surprisingly got the start just a week after hyperextending his left knee but also made a big impact.

"The biggest reason that Milwaukee, I think, should feel better … is nobody thought Giannis was going to look that good this early," Wright said. "… They play on Thursday, and then the next five games, there's two days of rest between them. … I think Milwaukee leaves this as good as a team can feel about being down 0-1."

Antetokounmpo played 35:21 in Game 1, dropping 20 points and collecting 17 rebounds.

Oh, and he delivered an absolutely outrageous block before the halftime break.

That said, he took just four shots in a hair more than 19 minutes of second-half action.

Shannon Sharpe of "Undisputed" said he believes Antetokounmpo will be more influential in Game 2.

"I believe they're going to make adjustments," Sharpe said. "Giannis will be even more aggressive. Skip, you know, when you come back off an injury, you want to make sure that thing is healthy. So you're a little tentative at first. … I like what I saw from the Suns, but I'm not going to overreact. It's one game. It's a home game. You're supposed to win. You did win. Let's see what happens on Thursday night."

Is a more aggressive Antetokounmpo necessarily the right answer?

Antoine Walker, who still believes the Bucks will win the series, took things in a different direction. On "First Things First," Walker said he thinks Antetokounmpo should be more deferential.

"When you're going to be a switching team [on defense] and switch as much as the Bucks do, you have to have a guy at the 5 position that can defend," Walker said. "This is where Giannis comes in and can be very special. The other adjustment is, on the offensive end … [Antetokounmpo] has to be the third option. Khris Middleton has to be the first option. Holiday has to be the second option, and Giannis has to be the third."

Antoine Walker: 'Bucks will need to adjust if they want this Finals win' ' FIRST THINGS FIRST

Hear Antoine Walker tell Nick Wright what adjustments he thinks Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks will need to make to defeat the Suns for the championship.

It seems that the Bucks could go in any number of directions to try to even up the series.

We'll see which one Budenholzer, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks choose on Thursday.

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