Draymond Green and Klay Thompson frustrate Lakers, Bucks’ big move and more

This is the digital version of The Bounce. If you want it earlier, start every day with The Bounce delivered to your inbox. Sign up here. The Golden State Warriors keep presenting their opponents with the ultimate math problem, but we’re supposed to be done with math as adults. Klaymation! If you hoped for another nail-biter similar to the Lakers’ and Warriors’ Game 1, you were greatly disappointed by Game 2’s results – unless you’re a Warriors fan. In that case, you loved the Warriors’ domination of the Lakers, which included Golden State completely blitzing L.A. in the second and third quarters to make this a laugher en route to a 127-100 victory. The Warriors outscored the Lakers 84-47 between those quarters. Klay Thompson hit eight 3-pointers on his way to a 30-point night, catching the ball high and letting it fly on multiple attempts. Stephen Curry was brilliant with a 20-point, 12-assist performance, as he and Draymond Green (nine assists) orchestrated a brilliant offense.
The Warriors have bombed away from deep in the semifinals. They were plus-33 from deep in Game 2 after a plus-45 margin in Game 1, during which the Lakers made up the difference with free-throw attempts and dominating the paint. The Warriors won both categories in Game 2. Kevon Looney came off the bench due to being under the weather and let JaMychal Green get the spot start. That meant Draymond guarded Anthony Davis early and often, leading to a complete disappearing act from Davis. He had 11 points on 11 shots, as Draymond’s historically great defense once again outperformed his opponent.
Now, the Warriors must prove whether first-round wins in Games 5 and 7 against the Sacramento Kings exorcized their road issues from this season. And we’ll see if the Lakers can get AD going again and protect the home-court advantage they stole in Game 1.
Let’s check in with Shams for an update.
The Latest From Shams Two years after title, Bucks sack Bud The Bucks’ decision to part ways with coach Mike Budenholzer on Thursday added a significant development to the coaching carousel.
Milwaukee’s opening will, of course, be a very coveted job for available candidates, but it also adds a level of urgency to the current opening in Detroit.
As The Athletic’s James Edwards III reports, the Pistons are expected to have their group of finalists meet with Pistons owner Tom Gores out in Los Angeles next week. The list of finalists includes Kevin Ollie, Charles Lee and Jarron Collins.
Back to you, Zach. More on the Budenholzer fallout Milwaukee did the seemingly inevitable following its five-game first-round elimination by the eight-seed Miami Heat. The front office said this about its choice to move on from Budenholzer: “The decision to make this change was very difficult,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said. “Bud helped lead our team for five incredible seasons,  to the Bucks’ first title in 50 years , and into an era of sustained success. We are grateful for the culture of winning and leadership that Bud helped create in Milwaukee. “This is an opportunity for us to refocus and re-energize our efforts as we continue building toward our next championship season.” Budenholzer is the fourth coaching change of the offseason so far, following Stephen Silas  (Houston Rockets), Dwane Casey (Pistons) and Nick Nurse (Toronto Raptors). He’s also the third coach of the last four champions to be fired. Frank Vogel was fired last offseason after leading the Lakers to a title three years ago. Look out, Steve Kerr!  In five seasons as Bucks coach, Budenholzer finished with 271 regular-season wins (third in team history) and 39 wins in the playoffs (second).
Milwaukee could look toward top assistant Charles Lee, a hot commodity in the coaching circles. Or maybe they bring in Nurse, who is still a coaching free agent. Read David Aldridge:  Bucks don’t need massive changes.
Meet The Weekend, Ladies and Gents What’s at stake this weekend? We could see a semifinals series end this weekend, while the others could go the distance or come close. Here is a question for each game. All times are in Eastern Time. Friday’s action 7:30 p.m. on ESPN: Game 3 of Sixers-Celtics: How do the Sixers control the 3-point line better, funnel the Celtics toward Joel Embiid and make Miami pay with the MVP big man on the other end? 10 p.m. on ESPN: Game 3 of Nuggets-Suns:  With no Chris Paul, can the Suns get at least 80 combined points from Kevin Durant and Devin Booker while hoping Nikola Jokić doesn’t book their trips to Cancun? Saturday’s action 3:30 p.m. on ABC: Game 3 of Heat-Knicks:  Can the Knicks slow down Jimmy Butler as the latter returns after essentially a week off? 8:30 p.m. on ABC: Game 3 of Lakers-Warriors: Does the Lakers’ defense have a math problem against the Warriors? Can they get back to dominating the paint and free throw line? Sunday’s action 3:30 p.m. on ESPN: Game 4 of Sixers-Celtics: Embiid has a career 4-13 record in Boston. Will the MVP help Philly break its road curse against the Celtics? 8 p.m. on TNT: Game 4 of Nuggets–Suns: This obviously depends on Game 3’s result. Could the sun soon be setting on Phoenix?
The Wolves’ Conundrum Shall we reassess the gaming Rudy deal? Jon Krawczynski wrote a phenomenal season-ending breakdown of the Rudy Gobert trade. It’s properly critical without being dramatic. And it explains the trade’s costs, Minnesota’s alternatives, the positive results and what didn’t work. Also, where do the Wolves go from here?
It’s easy to dismiss this as one of the worst trades ever. The Wolves’ regular-season struggles appear to have matters trending that way. And they didn’t fight hard enough in the postseason to feel warm and fuzzy about this year. But something in Jon’s article grabbed my attention: the big-man pairing of Gobert with Karl-Anthony Towns.
On the surface, its clunkiness and constipation mirrored an Action Bronson album title. When you dig into the duo’s 27 regular-season games together (only 27!), you’ll see Minnesota’s defense was superb. The Wolves gave up a measly 105.6 points per 100 possessions, which would be by far the NBA’s best defensive rating. But Minnesota’s offense with Gobert and Towns was outright terrible, though – sporting a net rating of just 105.6 (would rank last).
Now, let’s add superstar-in-the-making Anthony Edwards to the mix: Offensive rating: 106.7 | Defensive rating: 104.4
Toss in defensive specialist Jaden McDaniels to that trio: Offensive rating: Still 106.7 | Defensive rating: 102.9
Now, let’s include midseason acquisition Mike Conley: Offensive rating: 106.4  | Defensive rating: 100.0
The Wolves are building a defensive identity they haven’t had since Kevin Garnett’s prime. On its own, that doesn’t justify the Gobert trade just yet. There’s much Minnesota must figure out with this squad’s scoring because the offensive rating isn’t reliable enough. But maybe Gobert’s presence fixes their defense and raises the baseline for this trade not looking historically bad.
Bounce Passes
Did you know there’s a Hustle Award? Marcus Smart won it for a third time!
Doug Haller and Tony Jones discuss what’s next in the Suns-Nuggets series.
Will the Kings sign Domantas Sabonis to an extension this summer?
Bam Adebayo rightfully blamed himself for Miami’s Game 2 loss.
In Game 2 against Miami, Jalen Brunson proved he has been an absolute gift for the Knicks.
Has Nikola Jokić been quarterbacking a championship-level defense so far? The Athletic’s NBA Show catches you up on all things playoff basketball. (Photo of Klay Thompson:  Andrew D. Bernstein / Getty Images)