Milwaukee Bucks: 3 key adjustments needed for the defense
If the Milwaukee Bucks are to turn things around in their series against the Miami Heat, they may need to consider some defensive adjustments.
After their Game 1 loss to the Miami Heat, many believe the Milwaukee Bucks‘ defense has been figured out. Many also seem to believe that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. have lost their mojo.
Some people even came out and said that the Milwaukee Bucks don’t intimidate teams anymore.
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On Monday night, the Bucks lost to the Miami Heat, 115-104. Giannis Antetokounmpo only scored 18 points, and he missed eight free throws in doing so.
The Bucks started out hot by shooting over 60 percent from behind the three-point line in the first half, and they finished the first quarter up by 11 in the game. Despite that, the Miami Heat never went away, and ultimately got their reward.
The Heat clawed their way back in the third quarter when the Bucks’ play became sloppy. Once the game hit crunch time, the Miami Heat grabbed the game from them.
The Bucks’ defense just couldn’t match the clutch play of Jimmy Butler with his new playoff career-high of 40 points, while Goran Dragic also added in 27 points.
Even when the Heat scored only three points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, the Bucks couldn’t finish the game with their offense. Overall, it was a rough second half of Game 1 for the Bucks.
One game doesn’t exactly tell the whole story of a series, though. As Giannis highlighted in his post game interview, the Bucks have seen this situation before.
"“We’ve been here before,” Antetokounmpo said. “Going down 0-1 against Orlando, we did the same thing last year against Boston … We’ve got to come out and play Game 2, man. It’s a big game. Our season is on the line. We’ve got to come out, play hard, watch the tape, make the adjustment, be aggressive, make the right play and hopefully we can win the game.”"
With that being said, it’s important to realize that adjustments will need to be made for the Milwaukee Bucks. Here are three adjustments that need to happen for them to succeed in Game 2.