The NBA Champions Miami Heat are one game away from losing in the first round of the 2021 playoffs. The Heat lost their third game to the Milwaukee Bucks,113 to 84 in Miami on Thursday night.
Last year, the Miami Heat were the world champions, and this year they don’t look as strong as they were a year ago. Last year the Miami Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks 4 games 1.
Miami finished the season with 40 wins and 32 losses. Last season they had a strong push in the playoffs from Tyler Herro but he is returning from an injury and has not found his shot.
"[I'm most surprised by] just how fast it got out of hand," Heat wingman Jimmy Butler said. "We've got to pick who we want to be -- be physical, make things much tougher. Then you've got to live with the result."
The next game is crucial for the Miami Heat to win and still have a chance in the playoffs.
"The rhythm is off," Heat point guard Goran Dragic said. "It's way off. We lose our confidence. We still have one game left."
Miami has been having a tough time against Milwaukee’s strong defense led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and center Brook Lopez.
Miami’s center, Bam Adebayo is only averaging 0.74 points per play when guarded by his counterpart, Lopez. When Lopez was protecting the basket, Miami was able only to convert 2 out of baskets.
This year, Jimmy Butler has struggled to find the basket. In this post series, Jimmy Butler is averaging 15.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and six assists per game. During the regular season, Butler was averaging 21.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game.
"We set the tone early in the game," Antetokounmpo said. "We knew how important this game was. We came out. We were keeping guys in front. We were rebounding the ball. We set the tone defensively."
In the offseason, Milwaukee added Jrue Holiday who has been a spark for the team. He is averaging 16.7 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31524429/miami-heat-remain-ice-cold-now-0-3-series-hole-milwaukee-bucks
"Jrue's the most underrated player in the NBA by far," Milwaukee big man P.J. Tucker said. "People don't understand how good he is. I didn't understand how good he is until I played with him. He gets it, and he is the quietest dog to ever play with in your life."
On Friday morning, it was reported Milwaukee Bucks guard Donte DiVincenzo will be out for the remainder of the playoff over an ankle injury. DiVincenzo was averaging 2.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1 steal per game in the playoffs.
The Heat play again on Saturday in Miami and hope to come back. No NBA team has come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs.
"We've got to figure out ways to be better tomorrow," Butler said. "You're not too worried about what history says, and all of that good stuff. But we've got our work cut out for us."
Last year with the short season due to COVID, the Miami Heat beat four teams to become NBA champions.
In the first round, they swept the Indiana Pacers in 4 games. Then they beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round 4 games to 1. In the third round, they beat the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2. Then they beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 2 in the final series.
Miami Heat will come out and play hard Saturday to keep hope alive or they’ll call it an early season which they don’t want to do. The Milwaukee Bucks will also come out playing hard to keep their championship dreams alive. Saturday's game could be a tough game for both teams to see who wants to really win the game.