Bucks lose 3 straight and proceeding is nearly impossible at this point

I made a prediction about a week ago that the Bucks would beat Miami and advance. They were also my pick for winning the entire tournament. How wrong I was. It seems as though I overestimated Antetokounmpo's dominance and the fact that he averages nearly 30 points per game. I also completely underestimated Miami's defense, which has all but shut down not just Antetokounmpo's offense, but the rest of the Milwaukee side as well.

HeatBucksBasketball 6.jpg
src

Almost no one is actually watching these games and that is a real shame because there are not many instances where a number 5 seed dismantles a number 1 seed with a far more impressive W/L ratio. Not only have Miami won the games, but they probably could have won them by many more points than they have.

Untitled.png

Coming into this series the Bucks looked superior on paper and this near certainty of them being the better squad lead many experts as well as the Vegas gambling lines, to heavily favor the Bucks. Many outlets were calling for a sweep because everyone, including me, didn't think that Miami had the tools to shut down Antetokounmpo's offense. How wrong we have all been.

With the exception of game 2 (which was still under average), the Heat have held Antetokounmpo to well below his season average in almost every metric of his game. The thing is, they didn't even have to overload him with double-teams in order to make this happen. I don't know if the Heat are really this good or if they just have what it takes to win right now, but they are looking like a very different side than they did during the regular season pre-Covid.

f0pyuovwxjzyihaqrfax.jpg
src

The above is obviously a cherry-picked photo, but honestly, whenever dude gets into scoring position, it seems like the Heat are all over him constantly.

This strategy seems to have a double effect because Giannis Antetokounmpo seems to have not lost his confidence even though he really should have at this point, this results in him going for shots anyway, and missing a great percentage of them and therefore turning the ball over frequently.

Game 3 in particular was just embarrassing for the Bucks, where the Miami Heat scored nearly half of the total points that Miami scored in the entire game in the last 10 minutes. Milwaukee managed a paltry 13 points TOTAL in the 4th quarter at the same time. Prior to the 4th, the game looked like it was going to be competitive but the Bucks completely fell apart when it mattered most. The Bucks were up by 12 going into the 4th quarter and here is an interesting stat: There has only been one other time since 2016 that a team up by 12 at the start of the 4th quarter has ever lost the game (131-1).

Most NBA games are decided in the last 10 minutes of play and this was a really odd time for the Bucks to do what essentially looked like not trying. There is some speculation of the fix being in via gambling. I certainly hope not but the 4th quarter performance of the Bucks, who were still a favorite to win game 3, does seem a bit suspect.

In the upcoming and most likely final game 3, the Miami Heat are FINALLY favored by the Vegas lines, but only by a tiny bit. If the Bucks have any idea of salvaging some dignity in this series I have some very bad news for them.

No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the history of the NBA



0
0
0.000
2 comments
avatar

The last time I watched the NBA was back when the Lakers and Celtics were at it every year. I know that was a while ago. For me, as technology made everything something we can just watch whenever we want, sports that I only somewhat cared about were the first thing that disappeared from my life. These days I only watch football and the occasional UFC fight.

0
0
0.000
avatar

the LA / Boston rivalry days are something that will live in my heart forever as well. My dad was a Boston guy, and even though I was very young there was something about Magic that just did it for me. I think I won a dollar off my pops one year and I wasn't even allowed to stay up to watch the game with him because it was a school night.

0
0
0.000