Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie—to quote Beck Bennett's Jules—tends to see things a little differently, and he's going against the grain once again with his prediction for the Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the No. 1-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and the No. 4-seeded Miami Heat.
“I got Miami in this series,” Dinwiddie posted ahead of Monday's Game 1 matchup.
I got Miami in this series
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) August 31, 2020
The Bucks were about a 3-to-1 favorite to advance to their second straight Eastern Conference Finals when the series tipped off.
The Heat are coming off an impressive first round sweep of the shorthanded Indiana Pacers. Erik Spoeltra's ground won each game by an average margin of 10.5 points.
Goran Dragic (22.8 PPG) led the team in scoring over the four games. All-Star Jimmy Butler shined on both ends—averaging 19.8 PPG on 57.1 percent 3-point shooting. Most Improved Player of the Year runner-up Bam Adebayo posted 15.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game against Indiana.
Milwaukee easily dispatched the Orlando Magic in five games after surprisingly dropping Game 1. Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 30.6 points, 16.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in the series.
Adebayo will draw the matchup of the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year, though that may actually work in Miami's (and Dinwiddie's) favor. Flanked by the Heat's strong team defensive execution, Adebayo was one of the most effective defenders against Antetokounmpo in the league in the 2019-20 season. Miami won two of the teams' prior three meetings this season, with the Bucks lone victory coming in a 130-116 bubble game that Butler missed.
The best defenders against Giannis
(h/t The Ringer) pic.twitter.com/4OPRJdPn7A
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) August 5, 2020
Yes, Antetokounmpo will still likely get his numbers, but if he can do so less efficiently and in-sync with the Bucks offense than usual, Dinwiddie's upset pick may have a chance of coming to fruition.
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