The Milwaukee Bucks find themselves in a position that no team ever wants to be in as they trail the Miami Heat 3-1 in their first round series.
While climbing the 3-1 mountain often seems insurmountable for teams in this predicament, it is certainly possible and has happened. The Bucks are more than capable of doing it, but it will be far easier said than done. Following a gutting collapse in Game 4, several Bucks players truly need to do some soul-searching. It’s do-or-die time for this team, and it will be fascinating to see what the Bucks put together in Game 5 and hopefully beyond. With that said, here are three Bucks who are on the clock in Wednesday’s Game 5.
1 – Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton’s production has varied widely in this series. In Game 4, he could not get into his groove whatsoever, having tallied 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting while notching three turnovers before fouling out. Turnovers have been a big story for Middleton in this series, as he’s averaged 3.5 per game. Middleton’s handle on the ball has been non-existent, and several of his passes in this series have been outright awful. Also, he’s never been a stellar defender, but it’s been hard to watch him on that end in this series. He’s under the spotlight in Game 5, without question.
The Bucks need the best version of Middleton possible. They need the guy who scored 40 points in Game 4 of the 2021 NBA Finals or scored 38 points in Game 3 versus the Atlanta Hawks in the series prior. Less than 15 points while struggling to handle the ball and play defense is not going to get the job done. Though he’s always battled with inconsistent play in the postseason, he has also shown that he can step up in the biggest moments, and there will be no bigger moment for the Bucks thus far this season than Game 5 against the Heat.
With all of the talk about Middleton’s future in Milwaukee lingering in the background this season, this game could be a pivotal factor in that.
2 – Jrue Holiday
Speaking of inconsistent play in this series, Jrue Holiday has also struggled to get himself into any sort of a groove. He posted his worst outing of the series in Game 5, having scored 14 points on a vile 6-of-19 shooting, including 2-of-11 from three. It seemed like his energy was drained from a night of chasing Jimmy Butler around defensively. Coming off one of his worst playoff games as a Buck, Holiday’s play will be under a microscope in this essential Game 5 back at home.
The argument regarding Holiday’s offense in the postseason is that he is bound to struggle on the offensive end because he is exerting so much energy defensively. Guarding a guy like Butler, that is somewhat of a valid point. However, if that is indeed the case, the Bucks might want to switch the plan up because they simply need more from Holiday than what they’ve gotten so far.
While Holiday can make things tough for Butler, the latter is going to get his points either way; he’s been incredible in this series despite Holiday’s world-renowned defense. The Bucks should try having the Greek Freak defend him for extended possessions or even let Jae Crowder try. Crowder has not been great in this series, but if having Holiday guard someone else gives him more energy offensively, it could be worth a shot to throw the veteran wing this team so desperately wanted for situations exactly like this out on the floor.
In short, the Bucks cannot have another 6-of-19 shooting performance from Holiday. He was one of the NBA’s All-Stars for a reason this season, and it would be great if he could remind the world why that was. Holiday has made some legendary playoff plays before, and the Bucks would like it if he could string together a few more this year. It all starts with bouncing back in Game 5.
3 – Grayson Allen/Bobby Portis/Joe Ingles/Pat Connaughton
Yes, this is technically cheating. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Outside of Game 2, which the Bucks won, Milwaukee’s role players have not provided much in this series. On the other side of the court, Miami’s role players have given their team a huge lift, which is among the many reasons why they lead this series. The Bucks need one or more of these four guys to tighten up and make an impact for the remainder of this series.
Everyone here failed to crack 10 points in Game 4, and they combined to shoot 5-of-16 from the perimeter (31.3 percent). That cannot happen, especially when Miami’s role players are playing as well as they have. Coach Budenholzer has rolled with Allen and Connaughton the most among the Bucks’ role players, and they need to take advantage of those minutes. Connaughton showed that he could have a major impact by scoring 22 points in Game 2 but has been incredibly quiet outside of that. If Allen is going to play over 30 minutes, he needs to chip in more than eight points.
Ingles and Portis are also more than capable of making an impact. Ingles has proven to be a great shooter, which made it puzzling when he only had one shot attempt, which he buried, in Game 4. The Bucks need to make it a point to get him more involved offensively if he’s going to play nearly 20 minutes. Portis brought some intensity to the mix in Game 2, but that ferocity has not been on display since. The Bucks need him to bring some intensity to the game by scoring the basketball and attacking the glass.
Game 5 will be crucial for all of these guys; it would be great to see the Bucks win the role-player battle and the game overall.
The Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat will square off tonight at 8:30 p.m. CST at Fiserv Forum.