3 observations from the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 1 loss to Miami Heat
By Corey Moen
Before Milwaukee’s Game 1 matchup against the Miami Heat, on Sunday you could see all the scenes in Milwaukee.
The fans packed into the Deer District, the raucous atmosphere filling the Fiserv Forum, and the Bucks, led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, took the floor ready to do battle against Miami.
It didn’t take long for everything to take a dark turn and all the scenes from this afternoon turned to dead silence after Giannis’ injury.
All the air had been taken out of the building after Giannis went down, so what exactly happened after that caused Milwaukee to lose 130-117 in which Miami at one point built up a 15-point lead and took control from the opening tip-off? Here are three observations of what happened in Game 1.
1 – Putrid shooting from three.
Milwaukee shot 11-of-45 from three.
32 percent, 32 percent, 35 percent, and 33 percent. These are 3-point percentages for the Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs since Mike Budenholzer became head coach.
Every year outside of the 2021 postseason, it feels like Milwaukee can’t get it done because of their inability to shoot from three.
This problem won’t get rectified this postseason because this is the same roster from last season, and living and dying by the three isn’t the best strategy.
Not having Giannis hurt because he’s an amazing passer and draws in the defense for those draw and kick opportunities, but there’s nothing he can do if guys aren’t hitting shots.
This strategy won’t change for Milwaukee because they took the fourth-most threes in the NBA this season only behind Golden State, Boston, and Dallas (Via Stat Muse), so you go with what brought you here.
Milwaukee all of a sudden won’t turn into a 90’s basketball team where they just dump it into Brook Lopez and watch him work because it’s not their style of play, and it’s not what made them successful over the past five seasons under Budenholzer.
In Game 1, nothing went right shooting-wise from three, but I expect Milwaukee to come out firing in Game 2.