A view of Phoenix Suns Arena prior to the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns during the first game of the 2021 NBA Finals on July 6, 2021 at the Phoenix Suns Arena. Hide caption Joe Murphy / NBAE via Getty Images
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Joe Murphy / NBAE via Getty Images
A view of Phoenix Suns Arena prior to the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns during the first game of the 2021 NBA Finals on July 6, 2021 at the Phoenix Suns Arena.
Joe Murphy / NBAE via Getty Images
In the decades since the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks joined the NBA as 13th and 14th teams in 1968, it has only managed to win a league championship once.
For the Bucks, who won their first and only title in 1971, it has been 50 years since a championship trophy graced the halls of their arena. For the suns, drought is all they have ever known.
But now, for the first time in more than 10 years, the NBA Finals are devoid of the league’s youngest heavyweights – the Golden State Warriors and every team led by LeBron James. The Bucks and Suns, both worn by long-suffering and now ardent fan bases, are once again close enough to imagine themselves kissing the trophy’s 24-carat gold vermeil.
Whoever wins this trophy can fall on a single left knee.
All eyes are on Bucks striker Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two-time league MVP who injured and overextended his knee during the previous streak of the Bucks against the Atlanta Hawks while attempting to block an alley-oop attempt. The injury sidelined him for the last two games of the Bucks series – although the Bucks still won both games and ended 4-2.
Prior to Tuesday’s first game, Antetokounmpo was listed as “questionable” in the Bucks’ pre-game injury report.
“He is making progress and we are happy that he is making progress,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters on Monday.
Although the Suns are led by a superstar of their own – 11-time all-star point guard Chris Paul, who is finally playing in his first final after more than 1,200 career games – the Bucks were favored over Antetokounmpo’s injury in an early preview.
Now the Suns are considered a favorite for the series. The teams played twice during the regular season, with the Suns scooping up one point each despite a 47-point game from Antetokounmpo in February.
Injuries dominated this year’s playoffs. A record of 10 All-Star players missed at least one game during this year’s playoffs, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Along with Antetokounmpo, that group includes Paul, who missed two games last month as part of the league’s coronavirus protocols.
Many gamers and analysts have been pointing fingers at schedule changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Players and team owners agreed on a shortened offseason – just 71 days compared to 113 for the 2019 offseason – followed by a compressed regular season schedule to accommodate as many games as possible.
Prior to the start of the season, some players, including Lakers star Lebron James, feared that a lack of adequate rest combined with a more demanding schedule could put them at risk of injury.
“These injuries aren’t just ‘PART OF THE GAME,’” LeBron James wrote in a tweet last month, criticizing the short rest period after another high profile injury that sidelined Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers. “I speak for the health of all of our players and I hate seeing so many injuries this time of year.”
Speaking to reporters Monday, Paul – who serves as the president of the NBA players’ union – did not respond directly to James, but said that all players were able to raise their concerns during the pre-season negotiation process.
“Injuries are always unfortunate. They hate to have them,” he said. “Anything that is good for this guy … may not be the same for this guy. But everything was always a conversation and it will continue to be so. “
An entirely separate drama has overshadowed the broadcast of the games, which will be produced by an ESPN team and broadcast on ABC.
ESPN part-time reporter Rachel Nichols covers the game during the third game of the 2021 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals on June 24, 2021 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. Jim Poorten / NBAE via Getty Images Hide caption
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ESPN part-time reporter Rachel Nichols covers the game during the third game of the 2021 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals on June 24, 2021 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.
Jim Gates / NBAE via Getty Images
A New York Times report released over the weekend reported internal turmoil at ESPN over comments made by white reporter Rachel Nichols last summer about the network’s decision to promote her black colleague Maria Taylor, who is black, to host the 2020 final. Nichols had Hoped for promotion but was instead reassigned to the less prestigious sideline as a reporter.
In a private phone call accidentally recorded on the network’s internal production servers, Nichols said she felt Taylor had been promoted because the network was “feeling pressure” on diversity.
ESPN had largely declined to comment on the staffing issues involved, but the network announced Tuesday that Nichols won’t be the side reporter for the finals as expected. Instead, Taylor would again moderate coverage of the final with Malika Andrews, who is also black. Nichols, who runs an NBA-focused program called The Jump during the week, will be hosting that program starting with the finals.
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