The Milwaukee Bucks have put on a clinic against the Miami Heat in their first-round series in the NBA Playoffs. After Game 1 was a nail-biter that went to overtime (the Bucks won), Milwaukee has blown Miami out of the water in the most recent two games.
In Game 2, it was a 132-98 victory for the Bucks. Back in Miami for Game 3 it was much of the same, with the Milwaukee winning 113-84. So how have Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. flipped the script one year later after the Heat ran them off the court in the bubble?
First and foremost, the additions both in the offseason and during the season have been a massive upgrade for the Bucks compared to last year.
Jrue Holiday took some time during the regular season to get fully acclimated with his new team and surroundings but it has been smooth sailing since. Add on top how solid Bryn Forbes has been shooting the ball all year long sprinkled in with some Bobby Portis, and it's been a recipe for success for the Bucks. These depth pieces have been far more reliable this year than the cast last year that included names like George Hill, Sterling Brown, Kyle Korver and Eric Bledsoe. Not a knock against those guys, more so a tip of the cap to how great Forbes and Portis have been for the Bucks along with the midseason acquisition of P.J. Tucker.
On the other side, the same can not be said for the Heat.
They scooped up Victor Oladipo at the trade deadline this year and he promptly got hurt and has been out for the year for some time now. Tyler Herro regressed in a major way all year long and that has continued in the postseason. In three games so far against the Bucks in the playoffs, Herro has a grand total of 23 points. Add in that last year this Heat team had Jae Crowder who played phenomenal for them during their run to the NBA Finals and this year they have Trevor Ariza who has been unspeakably bad in this series, and it's just a cherry on top of the disaster for Miami.
The depth the Bucks have mixed with the Heat not having it has been the main reason for this drastic turnaround in the matchup between Milwaukee and Miami from last year to this year.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, by his standards, had a very average Game 3. The two-time MVP had 17 points, 5 assists and 17 rebounds in just 32 minutes played. The rebounding numbers are tremendous, the other two aren't bad, it's just not the norm for Giannis. Yet the Bucks still blasted the Heat by 29 points on Thursday night. That's because the aforementioned Forbes had 11 points on 4-8 shooting. It's because Portis had 11 points on 5-7 shooting. It's because Holiday was a pest on defense and chipped in 19 points and 12 assists on 7-10 shooting on the offensive side of the floor.
The Bucks got better this offseason in a major way while the Heat stayed much of the same and then fizzled out on key additions at the deadline. Because of this, Milwaukee now has a firm hold on this series leading 3-0 and looking primed for a matchup with the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
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