It is official: the Milwaukee Bucks will be competing against the Miami Heat in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
This marks the second straight season in which the Bucks will face off against the Heat as they have the chance to exact revenge on the team that throttled them in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last year. Yet both teams are far from the same sides that faced up against one another nearly nine months ago and that’s especially true of Milwaukee, just as Bucks forward Khris Middleton said to the media Tuesday afternoon.
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After the loss in last year’s playoff run, the Bucks looked to improve their roster. They found a major improvement in Jrue Holiday, though it came at the cost of an extravagant haul of draft picks as well as Eric Bledsoe and George Hill that went to the New Orleans Pelicans.
As we’ve seen, Holiday has proven to be a massive upgrade over Bledsoe and the bar is not high for Holiday to clear Bledsoe’s string of horrific playoff performances going into this playoff run.
Between his scoring, facilitating and trademark defensive abilities, Holiday has often been regarded as the biggest difference maker for the Bucks in being able to overcome their playoff woes. But just as he talked out about during his media availability Tuesday afternoon, Holiday believes that talent boost alone won’t be what sets the Bucks over the top against the Heat:
"“I feel like talent-wise, we have a bit more than that, but there are things that we have to do to match their energy. Things we can utilize and things that we have in our advantage.”"
The Milwaukee Bucks’ supporting cast additions loom large against the Heat
Beyond Holiday, the Bucks have gradually reshaped their depth behind their core dating back to the offseason.
Adding a marksman like Bryn Forbes has helped give the Bucks the lights out sharpshooter that plays so well alongside superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, especially after averaging 10 points per game while shooting 45.2 percent from deep. Forbes comes carrying defensive limitations obviously, but the high-level shooting he brings to the court has been exactly what the Bucks have needed, especially after moving on from Kyle Korver.
The Bucks have enjoyed the same kind of scoring spark from Bobby Portis throughout this season. Slotting up as the Bucks’ backup big man behind Brook Lopez, Portis has given Milwaukee a different dimension than they got out of Robin Lopez and Marvin Williams last year.
Portis’ offense, in particular, is quite the fall back for the Bucks to have in their back pocket after the sixth-year big man averaged 11.4 points per game and hitting 47.1 percent from downtown this season. If Portis can hold up defensively and maintain the Bucks’ presence in the paint, that will be more than what they got last year against Miami.
Last but not least, P.J. Tucker is looking to be the upgrade that the Bucks envisioned him being when acquiring him ahead of this year’s trade deadline.
Tucker does not have stats that blow fans away, but his presence on the defensive end has frustrated teams throughout the season. PJ Tucker is a defensive pest and his ability to guard multiples positions will make scoring extremely difficult for Miami. Although Tucker stands at only 6′ 5″, he plays much larger. His lower body strength and tough playstyle can give him an advantage against some of the league’s best bigs. Although Tucker will play in limited minutes, his defensive prowess will be important to Milwaukee’s success.
As the Bucks have sought to take the pressure off Antetokounmpo this season, all of the Bucks’ newcomers have their roles to play in being able to overcome quite a stiff test. Yet the upgrades that the Bucks acquired leave them in a better position to get past the Heat than was the case last season.