The Milwaukee Bucks-Miami Heat was expected to be a relatively low drama series especially compared to other playoff matchups in the East. However, with the injury to Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in game 1 the series has changed exponentially. With Giannis down, the Heat have taken advantage taking an unexpected 2-1 series lead. With Giannis' availability in doubt the Heat have a solid chance to do the unexpected unless the Bucks can find an answer.
Giannis' injury is not the only reason for the Heat's success in this series as they are also down a key player in their star guard Tyler Herro who was injured in game 1. So far it has been Jimmy Butler leading the way as he has done several years now for the Heat where he plays his best basketball come playoff time. Through the first 3 games he is by far the best player in the series averaging 30 points, 6.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds while shooting an 60.3% from the field. He's also been impactful on the defensive end playing great on ball defense while averaging over 2.3 steals per contest. If Butler is able to continue this level of play in game 4, the Heat have a great chance of putting a stranglehold on in this series.
For the Bucks, the obvious answer to how the Bucks can get back in this series is hopefully getting back their MVP candidate in Giannis and having him lead the way with his dominate play. However, with his availability still up in the air the Bucks will need their other two All-Stars in Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday to lead the way to get the Bucks back in this series. Fortunately, for the Bucks Middleton appears to be back to old self despite an up and down year due to nagging injuries. Still, the Bucks main focus has to be team defense as they have allowed the Heat to go from the worst offensive team in the regular season to the best offense in the playoffs averaging 124.3 points per game. For the Bucks to come back and win the series the will have to solve their issues defensively or they risk losing in the first round even if Giannis comes back.
Before the series started I picked the Bucks to win in 5 games as I thought they would be to much for the Heat to handle. Despite the 2-1 deficit I still believe the Bucks will find a way to win this series in the end especially if they are able to Giannis back in game 4. With that said, Game 4 is obviously a must win and whoever wins I believe will ultimately win the series.
-Jimmy Butler drops a game high 30 points to lead the Miami Heat to the blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks in game 3 of the series.
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