After the Brooklyn Nets had a 2-0 lead against the Milwaukee Bucks, everyone started to crown Steve Nash as this next great coach. That Nash deserved the credit just as much as the super team did. Look, there were times in the first two games where it felt like Nash outcoached Mike Budenholzer. But this was the first game out of the four where Nash seemed like a young coach. He didn’t play Blake Griffin for most of the second half. He took his starters out with four minutes left only down 15. There were some other puzzling moves after Kyrie Irving went down. After the game, Nash took it upon himself to complain about P.J. Tucker’s defense on Kevin Durant. The move is savvy but it also makes me wonder if we’re in the Nets’ heads.

Nets Coach Steve Nash on PJ Tucker's defense on Kevin Durant: "I thought it was borderline non-basketball physical at times."

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 13, 2021

Okay, we know what Nash is trying to do here. Nash is basically politicking the officials to watch Tucker early on in Game 5 and make sure that he stays in foul trouble. Will the refs listen? I’m unsure. Phil Jackson has done it. Pat Riley too. A lot of us Bucks fans get frustrated that Mike Budenholzer doesn’t do anything remotely close to what Nash did here. That said, I still wonder if the Bucks are starting to get inside the Nets’ heads. They’ve held them to under 100 points in back-to-back games. I know Kyrie Irving didn’t play for most of Game 4, but that was to be considered. Tucker and the Bucks are beating these guys up on defense. Nash is feeling frustrated off the court and trying to get the officials to tighten up the game.

We’ll see what happens in Game 5.

Charlie.