3 observations from the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 1 loss to Miami Heat
By Corey Moen
2 – A lackluster job stopping Jimmy Butler
Playoff Jimmy is real, and the Bucks found that out the hard way in Game 1.
Butler dropped 35 points on 15-of-27 shooting in which he looked like he was playing by himself in the driveway at times.
Whether Milwaukee tried putting Joe Ingles, Jae Crowder, Jrue Holiday, or Wesley Matthews on him it didn’t matter because Butler was either getting into the paint at will or taking open mid-range jumpers.
This is a favorable matchup for Butler as Crowder isn’t as quick as he used to be, and Ingles at this stage shouldn’t be counted on as a defensive stopper. Middleton, Holiday, and Giannis could all force Butler to have a bad-shooting night.
The impact of Giannis’ loss was felt in Game 1 because of what Miami was able to do with Butler and putting him in more favorable matchups.
In Game 1, Milwaukee didn’t do a good job in pick-and-roll coverage they let Butler get too deep into the paint, and he was able to convert.
Also, Milwaukee is one of the worst teams in the NBA this year in transition defense allowing 22.5 points in transition, per NBA.com/stats. Butler got eight points in transition off of Milwaukee not showing any resistance to stop him as most of his damage was also done with straight-line drives to the hoop.
In Game 2, I expect Milwaukee to pay more attention to Jimmy Butler and force the other guys to beat them, and the odds would be in Milwaukee’s favor as Miami had one of the worst offenses in the NBA this season, so if Milwaukee can slow down Jimmy Butler, they should win Game 2.