With Game 3 swinging back to Florida, the Miami Heat have a chance to impress their home crowd with a win over the Milwaukee Bucks to avoid a 3-0 deficit. The Heat knows that being down 3-0 is almost like a death sentence. It means that they can never lose a game and beat the opposing team four consecutive times. It's a tall order considering how solid the Bucks have been.
However, the Heat are well-capable of ousting this Bucks squad once again. Things are different now as compared to the previous year where the Heat upset them easily. But lots of things have also remained the same: Jimmy Butler's tenacity and the Heat coaching staff's ability to design game-winning blueprints. This is what will drive the Heat in avoiding the dreaded 3-0 deficit and even win the series for good.
Jimmy Butler Will Get Over Shooting Woes
Analysts have said that Butler isn't your ordinary star who would go on scoring outbursts every single night. His talent lies elsewhere: in his tenacity, defense, and leadership. However, he himself knows that the reason for the Heat's losses was his underperformance. In Game 1, he scored just 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting. In Game 2, he had 17 but was a horrendous 4-of-22 from the field and 2-of-9 from deep.
Given his mental toughness and immense desire to win, it would be foolish to expect Butler to perform in a similar manner in Game 3. Perhaps the great thing about Butler is that he wasn't just jacking up shots from everywhere. Rather, Butler was playing his game by patiently working his way to the hoop, posting up his defender, and crashing the offensive boards. His shots weren't just falling for some reason. Come Game 3, Butler will continue doing what he does. But this time, his shots will start falling.
Giannis Will Be Held Under 20 Points
Erik Spoelstra and his coaching staff have been praised for seemingly finding the perfect way how to stop two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. In last year's playoffs as well as in their regular-season duels, the Heat have contained Giannis way below his averages. They did this by basically building a wall to prevent Giannis from just powering his way to the hoop. When he manages to drive by, Heat players pounce on him as they would rather let him shoot free throws than dunk it all over him.
But in the first two games, Antetokounmpo scored 31 and 26 points respectively. It's due to a confluence of factors. As for one, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer has turned Giannis into a slasher and not the orchestrator like before. Also, the Heat seems to have discarded this wall-type defense whenever Giannis drives to the hoop.
Heat fans are understandably antsy. However, they should remember that they have Erik Spoelstra at the helm. He's easily one of the best coaches in the league when it comes to devising a game plan. While the Bucks have many weapons, shutting down Antetokounmpo is a major task they have to accomplish. The first two games have provided enough material for Spoelstra to dissect. As of writing, he may have already figured something out.
Heat Will Win
With Butler's resurgence and the Heat's containment of Giannis, the Heat will come up with the Game 3 win. The team is just too good to go down 3-0 or be swept. Apart from Butler, fans should expect the likes of Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Goran Dragic to step up big time. Duncan Robinson, too, will continue torching the Bucks with his 3-pointers.
As for the entire series, it's difficult to predict at the moment. Analysts believe that it'll go down the wire and would have to be decided through a Game 7. Whatever the case may be, this series will be one for the history books. It'll go down as one of the most tense rivalries in NBA playoff history.
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