The Miami Heat was one of the pleasant surprises of the 2019-20 NBA season. Despite temperate preseason expectations and a relatively inexperienced roster, Miami has climbed to the No. 5 of the Eastern Conference. He also boasted one of the best home records (27-5) of the entire championship. Their play within the Disney bubble only improved when they wiped out the top-seeded Indiana Pacers in the first round of the postseason. Now, they will be tasked with dropping the highest seed in the East into the Milwaukee Bucks.
The stakes are particularly high for the Orlando Bucks. After holding the best championship record for two consecutive seasons – and a potential consecutive NBA MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo – anything short of a place in the NBA Finals would be considered a disappointment. Even then, there are still some who would see anything less than winning the finals an unsuccessful season for Milwaukee. So far the Bucks’ playoff push has started well, as they were able to take out the Orlando Magic in five games in the first round. However, things will only get tougher for Milwaukee moving forward, as they will now face a Heat squad that will be a more difficult task than Orlando.
The Heat have won two out of three fights between teams during the regular season, although the Bucks won the last fight in early August in Orlando. Here’s a look at the full schedule and three things to know about the second round series between the Bucks and the Heat.
(1) Bucks vs. (5) Heat
All Eastern Times
Game 1: Monday 31 August, 18:30 I TNT
Game 2: Wednesday 2 September, 6:30 pm | ESPN
Game 3: Friday 4th September, TBD | TBD
Game 4: Sunday 6 September, TBD | TBD
Game 5: Tuesday 8 September, TBD | TBD *
Game 6: Thursday 10 September, TBD | TBD *
Game 7: Sunday, September 12 TBD | TBD *
*If necessary
1. Heat has options to protect Giannis
There’s nothing like stopping Antetokounmpo entirely, but when it comes to protecting him, the Heat have several options that could make life difficult for the reigning NBA MVP. It starts with Bam Adebayo, who is one of the few players in the league landscape who has the size and athleticism combined to constantly pester Antetokounmpo. In fact, Adebayo was the league’s most effective defender during the regular season when it came to protecting Giannis, based on his true shooting percentage.
How well Adebayo is able to do on Antetokounmpo will likely go a long way in determining the outcome of the series. It won’t all be down to Adebayo, however, as the Heat will likely have several defenders pass Antetokounmpo over the course of the series. Veteran striker Andre Iguodala, who made a name for himself as one of the league’s best defenders during his run with the Golden State Warriors, will likely see some time on Antetokounmpo, as will fellow veteran Jae Crowder and tough Jimmy. Butler, who has never encountered a defensive confrontation he didn’t think he could handle. Again, neither of these players will individually stop Antetokounmpo, but having more bodies to throw at him during the series will be beneficial. Having more defensive options will help in case of foul issues, and will also work to keep Antetokounmpo on his toes and, in turn, potentially stop him from becoming too comfortable against any match.
2. Who will help Giannis carry the scoring load for the Bucks?
When it comes to Bucks, an important question the team faces during the post-season is where the ancillary score will come from. Antetokounmpo is obviously the main offensive threat to the Bucks, and will have his own, but who else will come forward for Milwaukee? Miami are an excellent defensive team and they will do everything they can to make life difficult for Antetokounmpo and limit its effectiveness, at which point the Bucks will need others to come forward.
While Antetokounmpo averaged 30 points per game during Milwaukee’s first-round series victory over Orlando, the series’ second-best scorer, Khris Middleton, averaged just 15 points per performance – five points less at match compared to its seasonal average. Similarly, guard Eric Bledsoe averaged just 11.6 points per game against the Magic, even less than the 14.6 points per game he scored during the regular season. While players often ramp up their post-season production, the opposite has happened for key contributors to the Bucks in the first round. They will need this to change if they hope to make a second consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
3. Miami far from satisfied with the second round
For some teams, making it to the second round of the playoffs would be considered a successful season, but that’s not the case with the Heat. Miami has certainly exceeded expectations this season, but it is far from satisfied. This is an organization with a championship pedigree, led by a coach in Erik Spoelstra with a championship pedigree – they are looking for more. In fact, Jimmy Butler is not only confident that the Heat can overtake the Bucks, but he is also convinced that the Heat could leave Orlando with the title.
“We can win,” Butler said of the Heat early in the post-season game. “The thing about myself is that I don’t give a damn about what others say and I think I can speak for my teammates when I say they don’t give a damn.”
For Butler, this series presents an opportunity to advance deeper into the post-season than ever before. Butler has 59 appearances in the playoffs, but has never made it through the semifinals. It is safe to say that he will be motivated to do just that. Overall, the Heat are deep, well trained and play hard on both ends of the pitch. This is a recipe for post-season success. The Bucks may be the most talented team on paper, but the Heat aren’t the kind of team to overturn. This is going to be a hard-fought series, and whoever ultimately wins will have earned the trip to the conference finals.
