Milwaukee Bucks have golden opportunity to squash Miami Heat

The Milwaukee Bucks have been here before. Heading into Game 3 of their first round playoff matchup with the Miami Heat, the good guys hold a 2-0 series lead with the landscape switching to the beaches of Florida. And they have a golden opportunity to dig the grave for an early Heat exit.

Milwaukee’s blown 2-0 series lead over the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals is still fresh on some fan’s minds despite happening two years ago. And there are some parallels to be drawn. The East’s top seed defeated the Raptors in a sloppy Game 1 affair before blowing them out in Game 2. Game 3 then went on to double overtime before Toronto eventually won it–and the next three–to advance to the NBA Finals.

To be clear, Miami doesn’t have nearly the transcendent talent as Toronto had in Kawhi Leonard. Sure, Jimmy Butler is an All-Star, but he’s nowhere close to being in the conversation of the world’s top players as Leonard was/is.

What Miami does have–and plenty of it–is pride. They pride themselves on being grinders who will outwork their opponent. Hell, Butler loves to talk about how hard he works and how early he gets up. He referred to himself as “stupidly locked in” before this series began (and then proceeded to shoot 8-for-32 in Games 1 and 2, but we’ll leave that part out).

They also have a plethora of shooters in Duncan Robinson, Goran Dragic, and Tyler Herro who can get hot in a hurry and help the team break out of their offensive slump. They have a star big man in Bam Adebayo who could figure things out against Brook Lopez’s length that has made life so difficult to begin this series. Erik Spoelstra is also one of the top coaches in the NBA and could make some changes to spring his team free of the stranglehold Milwaukee has had in the first two games.

The Heat are going to come out on fire (pun intended) in Game 3 and I’m not necessarily referring to their shot-making. They will be energized by their crowd of nearly 17,000 that will be allowed in attendance. The “Heat Culture” will also propel them to throw the first punch (hopefully, figuratively. Although, they were plenty chippy while getting a good ol’ fashioned beat down in Game 2).

The Milwaukee Bucks have a perfect opportunity to bury their opponent in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat.

Milwaukee will have to figure out a way to weather the early storm of Miami’s energy and intensity at the start of the game. They may not be able to match it initially, but they must ensure they can stay focused for a whole four quarters. Guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and P.J. Tucker–the most intense on their team–have to lead by example.

The Bucks are clearly the more talented team and should be able to put Miami down. However, the Heat are more than capable of putting up a fight and making life difficult.

Two games is a good start to the series, but it’s just that–a start. Milwaukee has been in this position before and has failed to close. They can’t let this opportunity to send a message to both the Heat and the Brooklyn Nets (their likely second-round opponent) slip away. The shovels are available and the dirt is ready to be dug. The question is: Will the Bucks pick them up and dig Miami’s grave?