Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Jimmy Butler, The Deer Hunter

The Heat’s first wrinkle for the Bucks was to get down the court faster than usual. Miami ended the regular season as the second-slowest team in the NBA, but in Game 1 of the quarterfinal at Milwaukee, the visitors were operating six percentage points higher than their normal pace.

The hit-ahead pass plus instant takeoffs after defensive rebounds generated the Heat eight fastbreak points in the first quarter. Bam Adebayo hurled a full-court pass to Jimmy Butler that was laid in softly a foot away from the rim. Kyle Lowry found the first man on the break twice, outrunning the deer. And Gabe Vincent stumbled to the nail and pulled up for two in transition.

To start, Butler dropped 14 points on six of eight shots to power Miami to a 33-24 lead. He was guarded by Jrue Holiday and Wesley Matthews in single coverage, but it wasn’t enough as JB got into the paint whenever he pleased.

Defensively, Miami was on time contesting 3-point shots, allowing just 2 out of nine makes for Milwaukee through quarter one.

Eight minutes in, Giannis Antetokounmpo hurt his lower back on an unsuccessful drive to the rim. He collided with Kevin Love, picking up the charge foul, but tumbled on his posterior. Toward the end of the period, he plunged into Love again and went to the locker room after getting subbed out for Jae Crowder.

The Freak came back but had to return a second time to Milwaukee’s private chambers, and here, he was ruled out for the rest of the game. In total, he contributed six points and three rebounds.

Antentokounmpo’s absence eliminated the presence of a weak side shot blocker. Brook Lopez didn’t have backup getting attacked in drop coverage, plus Miami’s executed off-ball cuts trailing the handler without the Bucks’ security blanket to disrupt.

In the second frame, Miami mixed man protection with the 2-3 zone. To close off the paint, the Heatles sagged away from the corners and recovered on kick outs to force the Bucks into misfiring on 83.3% of deep tries.

With a minute left in the first half, Tyler Herro poked the ball free from Grayson Allen, but he hurt himself as he missed reaching for it on a dive to the hardwood. He broke his middle and ring fingers on his shooting hand, likely keeping him out between four-to-six weeks per TNT’s Chris Haynes.

When Miami got the ball back, Herro retreated to the corner and crouched, holding his hand in pain. The ball swung to him anyway, yet he air-balled it and swiftly grabbed at his wound again. On Miami’s next possession, he roamed to the corner and put his hands by his knees, the signal he needed medical attention, but the second quarter ended first.

In the first half, Butler had 20 of Miami’s 32 paint points. Additionally, he seized the passing lanes twice and stripped Khrid Middleton to initiate the break.

At halftime, the visitors were up 68-55 while uncommonly blazing from the field at 59.6% and 57.1% outside the 3-point line.

Duncan Robinson started in Herro’s place in the third quarter. Even with #55 having a down season, the Bucks wouldn’t concede much space off-ball. With Robinson on the floor, Milwaukee couldn’t cheat, flashing a corner defender at Adebayo when he got to work at the nail and in. As a result, Adebayo drained three midrange jumpers.

Coming out of halftime, Butler tallied six dimes. He repaid Adebayo with a full-court hit-ahead pass that turned into a two-handed jam and found open teammates when Milwaukee doubled on rim runs or post-ups.

When Antetokounmpo came out in the second quarter, the Bucks’ primary offensive focus shifted to Middleton. Even in front of solid contests, Middleton’s jump shot was on target from midrange and deep. Through three quarters, he had 20 points and had kept the Bucks within striking distance after falling behind by 14.

In the fourth quarter, Vincent was the Heat’s leading scorer with nine points. He made one jumper curling around Adebayo’s dribble handoff on the left wing, another in the corner when the Bucks failed to closeout, and his last shaking Allen away with #13’s screen. He was also the lone Heatle to play the entire period.

Butler added six points and an assist in the final frame to bring his total to 35 on 55.7% field goal efficiency with 11 dimes.

At the postgame presser, Adebayo and Butler answered questions together. I’m unsure if he was puffing smoke, but Butler said the Heat “can be better in a lot of areas.”

Adebayo said the turbulence the team went through to earn a playoff spot prepared them for the challenge present.

It’s unknown when Antetokounmpo will return, but as long as he is out, this encounter has become an even affair. Milwaukee still has weapons and disruptors to win a pair of matches, but home-court advantage will merge to Miami after Game 2.

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