Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: January 14 at Miami Heat

Major key for Miami – Hitting away from long range

The formula in how to eviscerate the Bucks’ defense (i.e. high to constant ball movement, knock down shots from both corners, etc.) is no secret at this point and the Heat arguably might have been the shining example of how to execute it to a T when both teams met in their four games against each other last year.

They’ll certainly look to do the same kind of damage, even as they sport a different look compared to their roster last year. After earning a four-year, $50 million contract last summer, Kelly Olynyk has carried over his marksmanship to South Beach as he’s shooting 43.4 percent from downtown for the season on 3 three-point attempts per game.

But of their holdover players from last year, there isn’t another player for the Heat that poses a bigger threat for the Bucks other than Wayne Ellington, considering he’s draining 41 percent on 7.1(!) three-point attempts per game and is incredibly savvy in knowing how and when to break free from opposing defenders to find his shot.

With a top-tier coach like Erik Spoelstra at the helm, whose leadership to bring together recent Heat squads and have them perform greater than the sum of their parts, Miami have taken on a greater emphasis in firing away beyond the perimeter, especially since they rank as the fourth-worst scoring team in terms of getting points in the paint.

For all those reasons, it’ll be up to the Bucks to stay disciplined and not break when the Heat will inevitably bend their defense and potentially catch fire from three-point range.