Bucks vs. Suns Game Six Preview: For The Culture

Basketball immortality awaits.

It all has come down to this. The Milwaukee Bucks need to win one more game against the Phoenix Suns, and they have a chance to do that here, tonight, in Milwaukee, in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

One more. One more win. Nothing else matters.

Where We’re At

Bucks fans are ready for this. I mean, they are ready, and the team is doing everything they can to maximize the home court advantage Milwaukee has tonight.

The crowd will be there, but one person who apparently will not be is longtime Bucks broadcaster Jim Paschke, who called his last game of his career in the first round against Miami and apparently has been recovering from illness. Get well soon, Jim, we’ll miss you in the building.

On the basketball court, both the Bucks and Suns have played all their cards. There isn’t anything else these teams can do to beat one another, besides making tweaks on the margins and simply out-executing the opponent. The Bucks can go small or go big, and they have the best player in the series, and they have remained relatively healthy (only Donte DiVincenzo remains out with his ankle injury, while Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s status is unknown after missing Game 5). The stars have aligned for Milwaukee to fulfill the “Bucks In Six” prophecy at home, and if they’re lucky the prophet himself might be in the building.

For Phoenix, it has been tough going since building a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 was a thorough Bucks win, and Games 4 and 5 were competitive late, but Milwaukee simply made enough plays to come out on top. All is not lost for the Suns, who absolutely have a fighting chance to tie the series and force a Game 7 in Arizona, and they’re already working on figuring things out.

The margin of error will be thinner than ever for the Suns on Tuesday night. Win, and they force a Game 7 back home, where their fans are rowdy and the city of Phoenix will be lit on fire. Lose, and all of that hope will be permanently extinguished.

It’s going to take the Suns a 48-minute effort of grit, resiliency and connectivity in order to get the job done. Are they ready? They say, definitely.

“We’re a type (of) team that realizes, ‘That (Game 5) is over,’” Booker said. “Whatever we do forward is going to determine whatever our future is going to be.”

Player To Watch

In a potential title-clinching game, there is no one player to zoom in on. Each team has tightened up their rotations and increased the workload on their stars, and everybody who takes the court for even a second will have a chance to impact the outcome. The team that wins will have more players deliver an A-game performance. Will that be Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and their teammates, or Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and their counterparts? Which coach will come out on top between Monty Williams and Mike Budenholzer? Can the Bucks bring home their first title in 50 years, or will the Suns extend the series and create an opportunity to win their franchise’s first in Game 7?

There is no one player to watch in this one. This is it.

Just one more. Just one more.

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