How The Miami Heat Are Dismantling The Bucks

 



Well, this has been surprising, hasn't it?

The Milwaukee Bucks employ the likely two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time Coach of the Year in Mike Budenholzer, and sport the best record in the league going into the playoffs. And they're currently getting spanked. So, what gives?

Ultimately, it's a confluence of events, and while the Bucks deserve their fair share of blame, the real story here is the Heat have been phenomenal.

It all starts with the twin pillars of the organization, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. They have been the two best players in the entire series through three games, neutralizing the Bucks' stars on one end, while scoring on them with ease on the other. What's incredible about Butler and Adebayo is that all season, neither of them have been threats from beyond the arc, but now Butler is actually taking (and making) them at an efficient rate against the Bucks. He and Adebayo are strong enough to create their own shots and stifle Giannis in the post, while also quick enough to switch onto guards. Those traits are a classic recipe for winning playoff basketball. When the two stars share the court, they are pounding the Bucks by 18 points per 100 possessions.

It sounds corny, but Miami is truly not afraid of Milwaukee. Their hard-nosed culture descending from the Godfather Pat Riley has trickled down to coach Erik Spoelstra, mainstay Udonis Haslem and the entire staff and roster. It has been a group effort, between the Heat "stunting" on defense, meaning help defenders make a quick sudden move at a Bucks ball-handler, causing that player to hesitate, before the "stunter" returns to his original assignment. The effect of this leads the Bucks' already, shall we say, uninspiring ball handlers to have no open outlets to pass the ball. It results in a lot of bumbling, inefficient drives that lead to Miami transition opportunities.

Budenholzer's shortcomings as a coach this series have been well-documented. He needs to play his best players more minutes, trim down his rotation, not play Marvin Williams in drop coverage and generally be more flexible with adjustments. Look at a coach like Spo, who has been superb all playoffs, mainly because he is willing to make adjustments. It tells you all you need to know that Spo dropped Meyers Leonard not only from the starting lineup, but the entire rotation, before the playoffs began. Despite lineups with Leonard generally performing well, Spo knew that it was probably untenable to have Leonard on the court since he can't contain guards on switches and is not a potent scorer. Instead of potentially losing a game with Leonard still in the rotation, then making the adjustment, Spo and his staff were forward thinkers. The Heat are 7-0 in the playoffs for a reason.

While Spo, Butler and Bam have all brought their A-games, it has been a complete group effort. Miami is one of the deepest teams in the league, and while it's true that depth doesn't matter as much in the playoffs because rotations are shorter, that doesn't render good depth useless. By having waves of long, athletic defenders in Jae Crowder, Andre Iguodala and Derrick Jones Jr be able to check Giannis at points in the series, the Heat are very well equipped to contain the Greek Freak. Heat veteran Goran Dragic has also had a quietly excellent season as a sixth man, but his insertion into the starting lineup has unleashed the 2013 version of the 34-year old guard. He's slicing Milwaukee up to the tune of 21.6 points per game on efficient shooting and playmaking, and the Bucks have not exploited his defensive shortcomings on the other end.

Sprinkle in some young sharpshooters in Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, a splash of front court shooting in Kelly Olynyk and tough minded rookie guard Kendrick Nunn, and it's all of a sudden difficult to pinpoint a Heat weakness.

Milwaukee has been far from perfect, but they may simply have ran into a horrible matchup. The Heat are built to exploit the Bucks' warts and neutralize their strengths. Miami is gritty, tough, and ready for a fight. They were severe underdogs heading into this series, and in the process of proving everybody wrong, they just might win a championship.