Milwaukee Bucks: 3 things to watch for in Game 2 vs. Miami Heat

The Milwaukee Bucks will look to dominate the paint again vs. Heat

The biggest reason why Milwaukee was able to withstand such a lopsided shooting performance between themselves and the Heat was how they dominated the game in the painted area.

It was one thing to outscore the Heat 56-24 in the overtime victory. It was another to convert 22 of their 29 attempts with the restricted area and 11 of their 21 driving attempts on the day. The Heat, meanwhile, went 6-for-16 on their looks with heir restricted area and were 5-for-12 on their driving field goal attempts.

Their dominance was two-fold as the Bucks relied on their size advantage to consistently take advantage of the best interior defense, at least during the regular season.

It showed up on the other end as the Bucks’ defensive shell smother the Heat’s penetration and overall attack. Brook Lopez loomed large in bothering the likes of Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, who combined to score 26 points on 8-for-37 shooting. Just look at how Lopez contests this runner attempt from Adebayo after Butler dropped the ball off to the Heat All-Star big man.

Butler will surely have plenty of opportunity to improve upon his inefficient shooting day and the same goes for Adebayo. However, how willing will Adebayo in taking those in-between shots because the Bucks have historically invited that under Budenholzer, regardless of opponents.

During last year’s Conference Semifinals matchup, Adebayo was 7-for-15 on shots taken in the paint and outside of the restricted area. Saturday afternoon, he went 3-for-9 on such attempts.

The Heat will surely test the Bucks’ defense from the perimeter, especially in the minutes that Lopez is on the floor and playing in his drop/paint protector role. Whether they can do the same inside the arc and on the shots that the Bucks have historically allowed opposing teams to take under Bud remains to be seen.