3 Milwaukee Bucks who need more minutes in Game 2 vs. Heat

Wesley Matthews needs more minutes for the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2

Wesley Matthews needs to play more in Game 2 for the same reason as Jae Crowder. Matthews is one of the team’s best defenders, which says a lot considering who some of his teammates are.

Matthews was crucial in the team’s success in slowing down DeMar DeRozan in their first-round series last year. He can only do the same for Jimmy Butler if he’s on the court more for the rest of the series.

Matthews did a good job defending Butler in Game 1, with Butler only able to attempt two shots against Matthews in almost four minutes defending him, per NBA.com/stats. Butler did have three assists in the time Matthews defended him, but that shows that Matthews was able to force Butler to defer to other options and make other players beat them.

The Bucks should be willing to take their chances with making other Heat players knock down shots. Considering Miami was the fourth-worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA during the regular season, it’s unlikely they’d be able to repeat the 60 percent they shot from downtown in Game 1 again.

Matthews containing Butler could go a long way in making the rest of the team try to shoot like that again, so it would be wise for Budenholzer to give him some good time.