Five Reasons Sports: Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks Picks

It’s finally here, the series most have anticipated since long before anyone heard of Covid-19. It’s the Miami Heat and the….

Milwaukee Bucks.

The Battle for the Soul of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

It also marks the return of Cocky Heat Fan.

We allowed our Fan-alysts at Five Reasons Sports to weigh in.

Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305):

Heat in 7. The Heat’s ability to throw multiple wing defenders at Giannis is what sets them apart. There’s clearly no way to fully stop Giannis Antetokounmpo, but I think Miami will slow him down in at least 2 or 3 games. Bam Adebayo will look to attack Giannis to try and get him in foul trouble, as he did during the season. But most importantly I believe this will be yet another huge leap for Duncan Robinson. Since Milwaukee allows an excess of threes, Duncan will expose this Bucks team, which will lead to a big Heat win in game 7.

Jannelle Moore (@Jannelle12)

Heat in 7. The Heat-Bucks match up is something that I’ve been looking forward to since their game in Miami before the season was suspended. Bam Adebayo was relentless on defense-forcing Giannis to the outside.  Speaking of outside shooting, the Heat was scorching from three in that game. Since then, the Heat has continued to play the Bucks tough. I expect nothing less. I expect Bam defending Giannis and the Heat deploying different variations of dribble handoffs to get their shooters open looks.  With that said, I take the Heat in seven.

Manny Chang (@MannyC_17)

Heat in 7. With players like Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson stepping up in the bubble for Miami, I see that depth being the difference overall in this series. Giannis can score 50 points, but those 50 points can result in a loss. Khris Middleton would have to step up game in and game out. I don’t see that happening. On the other hand, Jimmy Butler can score 15 points or less and still create a winning impact for his team. 

David Friedman (@TacoBoutSports)

Bucks in 6. Is Bam the answer to containing the reigning MVP? As we saw against Kawhi Leonard nd the Raptors in last year’s playoffs, if you can keep the Giannis freight train from endlessly steamrolling to the rim, you have a chance. The addition of Jimmy Butler gives Miami a Kawhi-ish defender, but Bam will ultimately determine how much of a chance the Heat have to beat the Bucks to move onto the Eastern Conference Finals. The homer in me says “Heat in 5”, but I’ll take the Bucks in 6 games.

Martin Bater (@MartinBaterSP)

Heat in 6. Jimmy Butler has become Playoff Jimmy, reaching another level. Now it’s time to witness Playoff Bam. Bam Adebayo’s defense on Giannis and his all-around offensive contributions will prove to be the difference for Miami.

Zack Buckley (@ZackBuckleyNBA)

Bucks in 6. Bam Adebayo is the Association’s best defensive option to throw at Giannis Antetokounmpo, so much as anyone is capable of pestering a soon-to-be two-time MVP. The Greek Freak’s supporting cast hasn’t exactly aced its postseason test, and add a slumping Khris Middleton (36.1 percent shooting in the first round) to the list of concerns. Saying that, the Heat might have too many one-way players to make this work. If they load up on defense, I’m not sure they score enough to win four games, and vice versa.

Alfredo Arteaga (@Alf_Arteaga)

Heat in 7. This is where it was supposed to end, but the Heat’s success versus the Bucks in the regular season and in the bubble (they had a giant lead they blew a few weeks back) is very real. The Heat use dribble penetration to get the Bucks moving sude to side leaving 3 pt. Shooters open, and it’s just hard envisioning the Heat losing to anybody if they are hitting threes. Oh…and they also have a smorgasbord of options to defend Giannis too. I originally thought about picking Bucks in 7, but couldn’t make a cogent case for it. I can for the Heat.

David Fernandez (@ByDLFernandez)

Heat in 7. The Miami Heat entered their second round series with the Milwaukee Bucks with literally nothing to lose. This season has been an unmitigated success, and any further player development or playoff prosperity Is just extra at this point. With that lack of pressure, their history of playing well against the Bucks, and the consistent shooting, the Heat will shock the NBA world with a 7-game upset of the heavily favored Bucks. Defensive weapons to deploy against Giannis will do enough to slow the superstar, and Miami’s team-approach will see someone different take on the hero mantle with each victory.

David Eversole (@DavidWEversole)

Heat in 7. The Milwaukee Bucks have been on a emotional journey thus far in the NBA Playoffs. It could be reasonable to expect a slow start as in their opening series against Orlando when they face the Miami Heat on Monday. Despite their solidarity off the court, expect no mercy from the Heat on it. Miami will throw everything at Giannis Antetokounmpo to make other players beat them. It will be a grind for both teams, I expect this one to go the distance.

Ricky J Marc (@RickyJMarc)

Heat in 6/7. In a year marred by COVID-19, social unrest, and a variety of other controversies, it’s a miracle we can even see the HEAT and Bucks go at it in a playoff series. The Bucks have been the darling of the Eastern Conference for the last two years on the back of a supremely talented unicorn from Greece, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The HEAT have been slowly chugging along in the post-LeBron (and now, for good, the post-Wade) era(s), and with the acquisition of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro via free agency and the NBA Draft, managed to develop into a legitimate thorn in the side of the league’s premier clubs. Through hard work, defense, and the confidence of its lead players, the HEAT have shown that they can match up with anybody, as we saw this season. Milwaukee is a great team, but as we saw last year, they still have a lot to prove. The easy bet is Bucks in six, but I’ll take it in the opposite direction. Miami will outwork, outshoot, and outlast this Bucks team, shocking the world in six/seven hard-fought games. We may even see a repeat of the 2016 offseason as a result, where Kevin Durant ended up joining the talented team that sent him home. If anyone can shock the world, it’s this HEAT team.

Josh Houtz (@Houtz)