The Miami Heat pulled off one of the more shocking upsets in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series across the NBA when they beat the Bucks 130-117. Of course, it helped that Giannis Antetokounmpo was forced out of the game after playing just 11 minutes due to injury, but it looked like if Giannis was going to be out for an extended period of time, the Heat would have a chance to win this series.

Unfortunately, in Game 2, the Bucks rained on the Heat's parade, and stormed back with a 138-122 victory. Milwaukee tied an NBA playoff record by hitting 25 threes on the night, and while neither team could seemingly miss a shot, the Bucks comfortably led for most of this game thanks to their 51 percent three-point shooting night.

For the most part, Miami played well offensively in this game, but they couldn't do anything to slow down the Giannis-less Bucks. Still, there are players who didn't live up to expectations in this game, especially when it came to the defensive side of the ball. So with that being said, let's take a look at three players who deserve the most blame for the Heat's tough Game 2 loss.

3. Bam Adebayo

It's tough to truly criticize Bam Adebayo for his Game 2 outing, because he wasn't totally horrible for the most part. His offensive numbers are OK (18 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 9-16 FGM) but it feels like, for all the talent he has, Adebayo is capable of way more for Miami. If they intend on winning this series, they are going to need a lot more from him.

Whereas Adebayo had a strong outing against Brook Lopez in Game 1, that didn't happen in Game 2. Adebayo was the primary defender on Lopez for much of the night, and while Lopez actually only scored six of his 25 points with Adebayo guarding him, it's not a great sign that he was able to get Adebayo switched off of him so easily. Adebayo also didn't do much on the glass by hauling in just four defensive rebounds.

With Tyler Herro out for the rest of this series, Adebayo is going to need to do a lot more for Milwaukee. He's not totally responsible for the Bucks three-point shooting outburst, but he needs to be a stronger interior presence on both sides of the court. Adebayo's passive offensive play style won't float anymore; he needs to take control from time to time, or else the Heat will continue to struggle.

2. Kyle Lowry

Remember when Kyle Lowry dropped 33 points on the Atlanta Hawks in the Heat's first Play-In Tournament game? Here are his stats in the three games since then (12 PTS, 9 REB, 7 AST, 5-11 FGM). Lowry's role hasn't exactly been cut down, and while those aren't the worst numbers ever, it's safe to say he's not living up to expectations for Miami right now, especially with Herro now out again.

Beyond his offensive struggles, Lowry also found himself matched up with Pat Connaughton for much of the night, and he didn't do a very good job of guarding him since he dropped 22 points off the bench. Lowry is getting picked on defensively when he's on the floor, and while he only played 18 minutes, he still found a way to log a plus/minus of -20 on Wednesday night.

Miami has other guard options they can turn to instead of Lowry (Victor Oladipo has a solid game off the bench in Game 2) and it's feeling more and more likely that they will start getting used over Lowry. The longtime Toronto Raptor could be a dynamic player, but he's nowhere near that level right now, and Miami doesn't have time to wait for him to figure things out.

1. Max Strus

Similar to Lowry, Max Strus torched the Chicago Bulls in the Heat's second Play-In game, but has come crashing back down to earth ever since then. Strus has been a nonfactor through two games in this series, and he was easily the worst player on the court for the Heat on a night where nobody seemed capable of doing much right for them.

Offensively, Strus shot just 1-4 from the field, which was good for only four points. The overarching theme on offense is that, with Herro out, players need to step up, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the three guys on this list did not step up in Game 2. Making matters even worse, Strus had a target on his back on defense. When Strus was the primary defender against Bucks shooters, they shot 13/23 and scored 30 points against him.

It hasn't been a great season for Strus, but he's going to have to be better for the Heat moving forward now. Hitting his shots on offense and playing better defense is going to be key for Strus, or else Miami will be dead in the water against Milwaukee. The Heat should be expected to play better defense moving forward, but their margin for error was already small, and after wasting a strong offensive outing in Game 2, they could be in big trouble.