The Milwaukee Bucks first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat certainly hasn't gone as expected through three games. After watching Giannis Antetokounmpo suffer a back injury early in Game 1, the Bucks have struggled with the Heat ever since then, and they are currently down 2-1 in their series after losing Game 3 121-99.
After a commanding victory in Game 2, it seemed like Milwaukee would be just fine without Antetokounmpo for as long as he needed to be out. But in Game 3, the Bucks couldn't get anything going against the Heat's stout defense, and they again had trouble slowing down Jimmy Butler. It's safe to say there are some big signs of concern for the Bucks right now.
With Game 4 now on the horizon, it's safe to say that all eyes are on Antetokounmpo. If he can suit up, the Bucks will have a good chance to even this series at two, but if he can't play again, Milwaukee could be in trouble. But before we fully shift our focus to Game 4, let's take a look back at Game 3 and pick out the three players most to blame for the Bucks latest loss.
3. Joe Ingles
Joe Ingles stepped up in a big way for the Bucks in Game 2 (17 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 6-7 FGM) but for as good as he was in that game, he was just as bad in Game 3. Ingles isn't the most important player on Milwaukee's roster, but with Antetokounmpo out, everyone else on the team needs to step up, and Ingles certainly didn't do that in Game 3.
This was pretty much a polar opposite outing from Ingles (5 PTS, 1 AST, 2-7 FGM) as he wasn't really doing anything right. Ingles' shot wasn't falling, and he also committed three turnovers on a night where Milwaukee struggled with holding onto the ball, as they had 18 giveaways as a team.
The Bucks don't really have other options they can turn to instead of Ingles, aside from maybe Jae Crowder, who has been particularly awful since coming over from the Phoenix Suns. Ingles will hopefully be able to find his shot in Game 4, because if Antetokounmpo cannot play, Milwaukee is going to need all the offense they can get.
2. Jrue Holiday
With Antetokounmpo out, the battle between Jrue Holiday and Butler has been front and center in this series, and so far, Holiday is losing that battle. This is the third straight game where Holiday has struggled to defend Butler, and on the other end of the floor, he isn't proving to be totally capable of leading the offense in the way it needs to be led right now.
Holiday's offensive numbers aren't necessarily horrible (19 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 8-18 FGM) but it's not great to see that he needed 18 shots to score 19 points. Holiday's playmaking also wasn't at the level it needed to be at, as he turned the ball over five times while racking up just three assists. With Antetokounmpo out, Holiday has to be much better on offense moving forward.
And on defense, the normally stout Holiday has continued to struggle to defend Butler. Miami's star player scored 14 of his 30 points against Holiday on 6-10 shooting, and against other players, Holiday had another 14 points scored on him throughout the game. The spotlight is on Holiday with Antetokounmpo out, but in Game 3, he withered away, and Milwaukee needs a lot more from him.
1. Brook Lopez
Brook Lopez was monumental in Game 2 for the Bucks, but he was easily their worst player in Game 3 on both sides of the ball. The Heat are having success pulling Lopez out of the paint and attacking him, and Bam Adeabyo was able to lock up Lopez on offense. Right now, Lopez's play may be the determining factor in whether the Bucks win or lose in this series.
Lopez's counting stats in Game 3 were not good (6 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 3-9 FGM) as Miami made sure they would not be beat by Lopez on the interior like they were in Game 2. For the most part, Lopez was a bystander on offense, which served as a reminder how good of a defender Adebayo can be when he's playing up to his potential.
Defensively, Lopez didn't really let Adebayo do much against him, but he consistently found himself getting switched onto Butler, who torched him in his limited time going against Lopez. Butler scored 11 points on 5-6 shooting against Lopez, and while he did a good job against Adebayo, that's pretty much neutralized by his struggles against Butler. Lopez needs to be a commanding two-way interior presence moving forward, or else Milwaukee will be in some real trouble.
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