They spent all year dealing with injuries to their Big Three of James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
But even for Durant, arguably the greatest scorer this game has ever seen, trying to beat Milwaukee two out of three times without both of his running mates is a very tall task.
Tucker will be able to remain quite as physical as he was guarding Durant in Games 3 and 4, when Durant shot an uncharacteristic 20-for-53 from the field.
Now, if either Harden or Irving — or both — can return before this series is over, the Nets will suddenly be a legitimate title threat once again.
The biggest advantage Phoenix has is that it has already secured a spot in the Western Conference finals, while the Clippers and Jazz battle for the other one — at least through Game 6 — while the Suns get to rest at home.
The other edge for Phoenix is one that proved crucial in a second-round sweep of the Nuggets: health.
Paul was limited by a shoulder contusion in the first round but looked as good as ever against the Nuggets, torching them for 25.5 PPG and 10.3 APG.
Meanwhile, Utah is still without starting point guard Mike Conley due to a hamstring strain and has fellow All-Star guard Mitchell playing through an ankle injury.
The Nuggets were ill-equipped to deal with Phoenix’s spread pick-and-roll tactics, detailed last week by ESPN’s Zach Lowe, and the absence of guard Jamal Murray made it difficult for Denver to keep up offensively.
A matchup with Utah would be interesting, because the Jazz were the stronger team over the course of the regular season and would have home-court advantage, but the Suns won all three head-to-head meetings.
In the defining moment of Monday’s Game 4, when a layup could’ve put his team ahead in the final seconds, Embiid admitted he didn’t have enough lift.
The guy hits the deck numerous times a game, and even if he is guilty of a few embellishments, there’s a natural inclination to wonder whether he’ll get up every time.
During Game 4, Embiid went to the locker room before halftime with trainers.
Embiid’s activity level during Games 1 and 2 — when he routinely beat double-teams and Clint Capela even when Atlanta’s center was in great defensive position — was hard to comprehend considering Embiid had just been diagnosed with such an injury.
The issue is the 76ers will have a tough time reducing his load.
The play worked, with the Hawks failing to handle it, but Embiid couldn’t execute.
When he is rolling, defenders have to respect his shot from behind the arc, and it completely opens up the spacing for the rest of the offense.
But he is healthy now and comfortable in his role, and he has always had a penchant for big games in the postseason.
He just hasn’t been healthy enough or been on a team as good as this one.
Mitchell is averaging an efficient 32.9 PPG this postseason, causing the Clippers to scramble to find schematic solutions despite being stocked with guards and wings with reputations as defensive stoppers.
And Chris Paul just reminded the world of how great he still is, conducting a point guard clinic in the Suns’ sweep of the Nuggets.
Paul, whose arrival in Phoenix turned the Suns from a bubble success story with a promising young core to a real contender, controlled that series from start to finish.
And that isn’t even the most impressive CP3 stat from the series.
Devin Booker, Paul’s 24-year-old co-star, also belongs in this conversation.