The Heat’s Keys to Containing Giannis and the Bucks

The Miami Heat upset 1-seeded Bucks, and stand with good chances to be the first play-in team to eliminate the 1 seed.

With a disappointing game 4 showing from the Bucks’ end, a game that many thought was a must-win situation, we see the series heading back to Milwaukee for the first elimination game between the two teams. It should be worth mentioning at this point, despite the fact that the Bucks have 2 home games to come, that only 13 teams in NBA history have come back from a 3-1 deficit.

Game 4 marked the return of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo since his back contusion in game 1. As expected, Giannis’ showing included the rim-rushing, board-chasing style of play that the fans have become accustomed to. What ended up losing the game for the Bucks seems to be a complacency down the stretch, as well as a failure from the supporting players to do just that, barring Brook Lopez, who ended up with 31 points.

Of course, while most had their focuses drawn to Antetokounmpo this game, not many could have foreseen the sort of performance that Jimmy Butler would put up. Not only did the Texas native set a new career high for himself, but his 56 points is tied as the 4th greatest scoring performance in playoff history. It seems in many ways that Butler was the only member of the Heat that managed to catch stride, as the only other players who took more than 10 shots ended the game with FG%s at or below 37.5%.

Though many favored Milwaukee to win the game, it, in a weird way, comes as little surprise that Miami is proving a tougher matchup than initially expected. Erik Spoelstra was famously one of the first coaches to adopt the “Giannis Wall” strategy; a strategy wherein 2 or more players would deny the Freak a lane to the basket and force a teammate to produce for him.

Since the 2016-17 season, when Giannis notched his Most Improved Player award, there is an evident drop in his production when he plays against the south Florida team. In the 22 regular season games he played against the Heat, Giannis’ averages dropped to 20.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists.

The Heat is a team that has evidently done their homework as far as Giannis-limiting strategies go. As the final 3 games of the series include 2 being played in Milwaukee, the Bucks will have to dig deep to avoid being the first 1 seed to be eliminated by a play-in team.