Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Win Over Miami Heat

Making The Extra Pass

The Bucks have been a great passing team early on this season. Milwaukee is currently tied for third in the NBA with 24.9 assists per game. The Bucks put on a passing clinic in the first quarter against Miami.

Milwaukee dropped 42 points on the Heat in that quarter, on the strength of 11 assists. It was a ridiculous quarter of Bucks basketball to watch, in the best possible way. Although it can be tempting to just shove Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo the ball over and over again, when the whole team is rolling the Bucks become a really, really tough team.

More than even just ball movement, the Bucks just came out with far more energy than Miami did early. The team grabbed 14 rebounds in the first quarter, compared to just four from the Heat. Miami is the team with the big rebounder in Whiteside, but the Bucks just worked harder than he did.

This extra pep is something Milwaukee needs to work on bringing every single night. The Bucks are young–energy is supposed to be an inherent advantage for Giannis, Jabari and company. It was on Friday, and that led to a massive win in Milwaukee.