After a dominant start to their regular season in 2019-20 was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Milwaukee Bucks went out with a whimper against the Miami Heat in the second round of the bubble playoffs. There were a variety of reasons for the collapse, both on and off the court, but it was devastating nonetheless ahead of a big summer for Giannis Antetokounmpo. There was some concern that the organization would have to blow things up if he wouldn't commit to them for the long haul.
However, the Bucks did all they could to ensure that wouldn't happen. They got Giannis to commit to a supermax deal. They traded the farm for Jrue Holiday, who's a massive upgrade over Eric Bledsoe. The failed Bogdan Bogdanovic acquisition was a debacle, but they pivoted from there and then went through the 2020-21 regular season preparing for the playoffs by experimenting a bit more and showing more adaptability.
Milwaukee didn't try ducking the Miami matchup in the playoffs, instead embracing the possibility of revenge. After a tight Game 1 win that easily could have been a loss, the Bucks are smelling blood in the water thanks to their 132-98 ass-whooping of the Heat in Game 2.
This Bucks group is out to prove they're different from the last few years. Giannis still has the same flaws, but the upgrades around him and some of the adjustments made by Mike Budenholzer have helped mitigate them and should continue to help moving forward in the playoffs.
Holiday is a two-way stud who put up 11 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds while posting a game-high plus-37 on Monday. Bobby Portis and Bryn Forbes have been marksmen off the bench to add much-needed shooting, with Forbes going for 22 points and six 3-pointers in Game 2. The Bucks hit a playoff franchise-record 22 triples in the win.
Bud has actually turned to Giannis to help slow down Jimmy Butler, who has struggled to the tune of 8-of-32 shooting in the first two games after he consistently roasted Milwaukee in the bubble. Miami's offense in general has been a rather disastrous train wreck thus far in this series, with Giannis, Holiday and Khris Middleton doing their thing on defense and Brook Lopez anchoring an elite defensive unit in the middle. Offensively, Lopez has been throwing it back to his younger days for a while now.
Bud is also making the proper lineup moves after taking a lot of heat for his rotation decisions last year:
Wrote about it before today's game, but Budenholzer is staggering Antetokounmpo/Holiday/Middleton to keep at least two of the three on the floor at all times. No more full bench groups. Longer minutes for the Big 3 and starters. What does that do to the coach adjustment in-model?
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) May 25, 2021
The Bucks must make sure they don't take their foot off the gas pedal, because the Heat aren't going down without a fight. With the series shifting to Miami, Milwaukee needs to smell that blood in the water and go in for the kill. They need to not even give the Heat a glimmer of hope down in South Beach.
The Bucks look like the better team and appear to be in position to win this series easily. However, things can change quickly if they're not careful and get caught looking ahead to a second-round showdown against the Brooklyn Nets. It's time to finish the job and exorcise those bubble demons.
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