Utilizing their homecourt advantage, the Milwaukee Bucks have taken a 2-0 series lead over the Miami Heat in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
After narrowly escaping Game 1 thanks to a heroic game-winning jumper from Khris Middleton, the Bucks took the floor in Game 2 with a sense of urgency from the opening tip. Hitting a franchise playoff record 22 triples, the Bucks finished off a historic night as they trampled the Heat with a dominant 132-98 win on Monday.
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Despite putting on a convincing showing with a 34-point margin of victory in the latest outing, this series is far from over as everything shifts to South Beach for the next two matchups.
Although Milwaukee is currently in a good place leading the series, this relentless Miami team will certainly come out with something to prove as they have a chance to tie up this series on their home floor over the next two games.
Simultaneously, the Bucks will have the opportunity to close out this series if they win these next two games. To do so, they will have to continue several trends that have stood out throughout both their two-point victory in Game 1 and their 34 point victory in Game 2.
The Milwaukee Bucks must stay aggressive on the offensive glass
Rebounding has been among the strong suits for the Bucks this season, which has been placed on full display throughout these first two contests, particularly on the offensive end.
The Bucks have hauled in a whopping 36 offensive rebounds throughout the first two games of this series, which leads the league by a country mile. When asked about these tenacious efforts on the glass offensively, Khris Middleton appointed the consistent emphasis on it by head coach Mike Budenholzer. You can catch the full clip on the team’s official YouTube page:
"“He’s been on us all year about that. We definitely saw some clips where we can take advantage of crashing the boards. I think Donte does a great job of flying in from all over the place. Bobby, Giannis, Jrue, even Brook, myself, although I’m not in there as much as I could. It’s just a balance that we want to have with some guys attacking the glass and then also being ready to get back in transition.”"
With a clear emphasis on crashing the glass, they have capitalized on the abundance of extra possessions with the basketball by putting up 42 second chance points on the scoreboard, which is also the league’s best mark to this point in the playoffs. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has particularly been active down low by hauling in 12 offensive rebounds for 14 extra points in what has been a solid series for him.
This aggressive effort on the offensive glass from Antetokounmpo and the rest of the Bucks will be crucial down in Miami as Milwaukee looks to put those extra points on the board.