Revisiting playoff history between the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat
By Dalton Sell
The top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks will officially face off versus the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in the opening round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
These two franchises have plenty of recent postseason history, so let us look back and revisit the previous playoff matchups between these two teams.
Revisiting playoff history between the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat
Prior to this series, the Bucks and Heat have met three times in the postseason. Miami leads the all-time series 2-1 with a record of 8-5 in 13 total games.
During their first-ever meeting in the playoffs back in 2013, the Heat dismantled the Bucks in the first round with a clean 4-0 sweep en route to winning the NBA Championship. LeBron James was Miami’s leading scorer in that series with 24.5 points per game, while Monta Ellis led Milwaukee at 14.3 points. Five Bucks averaged double-digit points in that series. This is the matchup where the now famous “Bucks in six” saying was born after Brandon Jennings claimed the Bucks would win it in six. That didn’t quite pan out, but it gave the fanbase a legendary rallying cry forever.
Seven years went by before these two teams clashed in the postseason once again, with the two meeting in a one vs. five matchup in the second round in 2020. The Heat dominated the series in essentially every facet, having won 4-1 before eventually going to the NBA Finals. Jimmy Butler had an excellent series, and Heat-turned-Buck Goran Dragic was sensational as the Bucks had no answers to either of the two defensively in a major upset.
Less than a year later, the two sides met in the first round, with the three-seeded Bucks wanting a matchup against the six-seeded Heat. Aside from a closely contested Game 1, which came down to a Khris Middleton game-winning bucket, the Bucks dominated the series from start to finish, having swept the Heat to start their title run. Six Bucks averaged double-digit points in that series, and the team was also excellent on the defensive end.
These two teams will now meet in the playoffs for a fourth time, and there are bound to be more fireworks. The Bucks are hoping this series goes like 2021 rather than 2013 or 2020, and there are several X-factors that could help them achieve that goal.
Next. 3 Bucks playing for their future in Milwaukee in the NBA Playoffs. dark
Stay tuned for more analysis on this must-see series between the Bucks and rivaling Heat.