The Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat face off in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals on Monday night. Milwaukee, which finished with the NBA’s best record, defeated the Orlando Magic in five games, while Miami swept the Indiana Pacers in the opening round.

Giannis Antetokounmpo looks to lead the Bucks to their second consecutive Conference finals appearance. The Heat, led by its All-Star duo of Jimmy Butler and big man Bam Adebayo, has not reached the East finals since 2014.

Antetokounmpo, the Defensive Player of the Year who is likely to nab his second consecutive MVP award, is by far the best player in the series. But the Bucks will need contributions across the board to defeat the Heat, who won the regular-season head-to-head matchups two games to one.

Khris Middleton continues to serve as the secondary star for the Bucks. The two-time All-Star struggled in the first few games of the postseason, before returning to form as the Bucks eliminated the pesky Magic. Outside of their two stars, who else will step up for the Bucks in the conference semifinals? Enter Brook Lopez, the 11-year veteran center who averaged 20.4 points in the seeding games.

Since entering the Orlando Bubble, Lopez has been dialed in. He shot 43.9% on 3’s with a 62.9 true shooting percentage in the seeding contests across 195 minutes, the second-most of any Milwaukee player. His usage rate rose to 24.8%, far above his 17.1 usage percentage before the league’s restart.

Lopez followed up his dominant numbers in the seeding games with a solid showing in the first round, producing 13.4 points with 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals and a team-best 1.2 blocks per contest.

Lopez could find himself in a favorable matchup versus Miami. The Heat will almost certainly deploy Adebayo on Antetokounmpo, which will force a wing player up against Lopez.

Adebayo finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He has the best chance of containing Antetokounmpo because of his size and athleticism. While the 6'9″ Adebayo is a couple inches shorter than the Bucks’ superstar, he held his own against the reigning MVP. The 23-year-old held the Greek Freak to 12-of-28 shooting (42.9%) in the regular season, logging the fifth-most minutes (11:47) guarding Antetokounmpo.

With Adebayo matching up on Antetokounmpo, the Heat will in all likelihood have Jae Crowder defend the 7-foot Lopez. Crowder is a good defender, but Lopez is five inches taller. While Lopez is no longer as strong of a back-to-the-basket player as he was in his heyday, he can still utilize his size advantage when necessary. Lopez went 3-for-3 with five free throw attempts with Crowder guarding him in the regular season.

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The Heat will likely throw multiple defenders at Lopez. Kelly Olynyk, Derrick Jones and Andre Iguodala are candidates to guard Milwaukee’s center. Lopez is capable of backing down all of the aforementioned players in the post. He will also be left open on the perimeter while the Heat focuses its attention on Antetokounmpo. Lopez averaged 5 three-pointers attempted (1.8 made) in round one. He needs to fire away from downtown when open. Ideally, he will improve on his 36% mark from last round.

The Bucks are relying heavily on the 32-year-old Lopez. He saw 30.2 minutes of action per contest in the first round. Only Middleton and Antetokounmpo, both of whom played 31.8 minutes per game, saw more floor time. Lopez should be expected to carry a similar workload against Miami. His strong defense, particularly in the paint, and shot-blocking ability will be crucial for Milwaukee.

Miami is one of the top defensive clubs in basketball, making it essential for Lopez to expose any potential mismatches. Lopez is the x-factor for the Bucks, who will defeat the Heat in six games.