With the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat set to tip-off in the first round of the NBA playoffs, here’s a preview of how the Bucks can handle the Heat.
The Milwaukee Bucks finally know who their first-round playoff opponent will be when they tip-off on Saturday: The Miami Heat.
The Heat lost on their home floor to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday before orchestrating a late rally on Friday night against the Chicago Bulls to secure the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference.
Miami was seen as, by far, the best play-in team, so Milwaukee might not be the happiest they get to host them in the first round. After the heat completed a gentlemen’s sweep in the 2020 semi-finals and Milwaukee got a clean sweep in the 2021 first-round, this will be the third time in four years the two teams have played in the postseason.
It’s safe to say they are familiar with each other’s games. However, let’s take a deeper look at Miami and perform a SWOT analysis on their game. We’ll look at their Strengths and Weaknesses, what Opportunities the Bucks have to exploit them, and any Threats Miami poses.Strengths
Butler is asked to do everything on both ends of the court. He’s the only Heat player who can consistently create a shot for both himself and his teammates. He’s also their best perimeter defender (and it’s not even close).
He loves to hunt mismatches by either receiving a ball screen or setting one. He’ll have his eyes on the likes of Grayson Allen and Jevon Carter when they’re in the game and try to get them to switch onto him before taking them down low in the post. Of the 29 players who isolate at least three times a game, he ranks 11th in points per possession at 1.05. He’ll be asked to play Superman in this series and carry the Heat to an upset victory.
Erik Spoelstra will defend the Bucks with multiple defensive coverages throughout the series, a game, and maybe even a possession. Miami is as versatile as it comes in this dimension and it keeps opposing offenses out of rhythm (the Heat had the seventh-best defensive rating, according to Cleaning the Glass).
