A lot will be riding for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks when they face off against the Miami Heat in the opening round of the playoffs. Giannis and Co. will be looking to exact some revenge against the defending Eastern Conference champs following last season's disappointment, and Antetokounmpo himself did not shy away from the redemption narrative.

The reigning back-to-back MVP admitted that this isn't just going to be like any other series for the Bucks:

“Obviously everybody on the team has a little bit of extra motivation,” Giannis said, via CBS Miami.

Milwaukee's season came to an abrupt end last year when an underdog Heat side took them down in the second round. It was an utter disappointment following what was a tremendous regular-season campaign for the Bucks. This year, they battle each other in the opening round of the playoffs, which quite frankly, might prove to be troublesome for the Bucks.

For their part, the Heat are also relishing the challenge ahead. Miami talisman Jimmy Butler has spoken out about the highly-anticipated matchup and clearly, they aren't going to be giving the Bucks an inch:

“You don’t hold anything back,” Butler said. “You leave it all out there. Best time of year for it.”

We're definitely in store for quite a series in a matchup that does not have a clear favorite. For the Bucks, however, it's hard to deny that a first-round exit is going to be nothing short of catastrophic for them.