Giannis Antetokounmpo tied a career high with 15 assists, and the Milwaukee Bucks completed their sweep of the Miami Heat Saturday afternoon. The Heat were simply overpowered, and outmatched all series long a mere 7 months after shocking the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference during the 2nd round of the playoffs last year. When all was said and done the Bucks outscored the Heat 474-392 in the series, good for an average margin of victory of 20.5 pts per game.
The 2021 Bucks did what the 2020 iteration of the team could not: they got scoring outside of just Giannis each game. Where last year Milwaukee appeared incapable of making in-game adjustments when the Heat threw different looks at the Greek superstar, this year their supporting cast, and bench players more than carried their weight.
In all but 1 game of their first round series, someone not named Giannis led the team in scoring. This kind of balanced effort allowed the Bucks to get open looks, prevent Miami from clogging the paint, and most importantly, kept them in games when Antetokounmpo was struggling.
That exact scenario played out in game 4 for much of the first 3 quarters. However because of their new found balance, Giannis was able to play the role of facilitator until his shots began to fall. Afterwards Giannis had this to say about his performance “Being able to affect the game in multiple ways, and not just getting into the paint and dunking…Don’t get me wrong. If I could dunk every single play, I’d try to dunk every single play. But just being mature, having my head up and looking for guys when they’re open was big for us.”
In the end four different Bucks players would finish with 20 or more points to complete the sweep. The Heat tried to roll out a variety of different defensive schemes, but ultimately were no match for Milwaukee’s inside game, as the Bucks dominated on both ends of the floor all series long. Speaking to reporters Khris Middleton, who put up a 20pt/11reb/3ast effort, said “When you look back on this series, we definitely controlled the boards, which was a huge part of getting out in transition and giving us second-chance points,” Middleton said. “Everybody had a part controlling the boards for us. We were able to limit them to one shot.”
In hindsight, the most significant loss for the Heat this year wasn’t having Jimmy Butler out for 20 games, but rather Jae Crowder’s departure, and the defensive void it left on a Miami roster that made the NBA Finals just last year. For a team that prides itself on being sound defensively, their showing on the glass left much to be desired this year. Bam Adebayo gave it his best effort, averaging 9.25 rebounds per game over the series, but the Heat as a team were outmuscled by Milwaukee’s bigs night in night out en route to their first round exit.
The Heat will have an interesting offseason on their hands, and more time than they were likely hoping to have to ponder potential roster moves. With only 4 players with guaranteed contracts for next year, Miami could field a drastically different team when the 2021-22 season tips off in the fall. South Beach is a potential landing spot every year for big name free agents, and with cap space to spare, the Heat front office is going to have a busy few months on their hands.
While this year will get filed away as a disappointment for Heat fans hoping for another miraculous postseason run, the sheer number of “what ifs” surrounding the Heat’s 2020-21 season are enough to make your head spin. Perhaps none more intriguing than “what if Miami was willing to include Tyler Herro in the rumoured James Harden package?” If you’re to believe the scuttlebutt around various NBA circles, Harden to the Heat was a done deal, until Riley, Elisburg & co. balked at the 11th hour to include the 21 year old in the trade. Instead the Heat settled for a package to bring in the oft-injured former All-Star Victor Oladipo a few months later. This move would ultimately backfire as Oladipo would go on to play only 4 games for the Heat, while also losing the services of PF/C Kelly Olynyk. Ironically, it was likely a player in the same mould of an Olynyk or a Crowder which would cost the suddenly undersized Heat the series against the Bucks.
So while Milwaukee awaits either the Celtics or Nets in round 2, Miami will have to settle for a long lay off, and replaying multiple trade scenarios in their head this summer. For now, we’ll have to wait and see if fans will be treated to the rubber match between the two franchises in next year’s playoffs. If they are, expect a lot of new faces donning Heat uniforms.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner