The Miami Heat lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, but it wasn’t all bad, here’s the biggest thing to take away from the loss on Thursday.
The Miami Heat came into Thursday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks riding high. While the Heat aren’t typically ones to drink their own kool-aid, based on the leadership of the team, they had to be at least a little proud of what they were able to get done in their last game against the Boston Celtics without their star in Jimmy Butler.
Fast forward to Thursday though and due to a late-game tweak suffered with seconds to go in the Boston game, they would not only be without Jimmy Butler, but they would also be without Goran Dragic in this contest. That was surely awful news.
But it wasn’t though, as the Miami Heat came out and appeared as though they would steal this game from Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. Although it started out pretty back and forth like, it eventually started to become an all Miami Heat affair. They even got out to as wide as a 23 point lead at one point in the second quarter.
It all started to fall down in the third though. The Bucks would eventually come back to win the game.
The Miami Heat had a chance to make a huge statement without two of their three best players. They eventually let it slip away.
It was sad to see, but with a fully healthy roster, this Miami Heat team can beat anybody in the NBA and that definitely includes this Milwaukee Bucks team. Games like this one and the Boston result prove it.
They had a really solid outing when you consider everything. The key seemed to be that they went into half and lost some of the intensity that they had in the first half.
My guess is if Jimmy Butler is there to infuse some of his doggedness into the situation with his leadership and fire, while also if Goran Dragic is there to be a spark on the court, then this is a totally different game and outcome.
As it stands though, the Miami Heat got beat. They had a massive lead and let it slip away from them.
It was also at the hands of a league MVP with quite a few talented guys around him on a team that has been among the best, if not the single best, teams in the league over the past few seasons. So, there’s also that.
Again, you would have loved to have won this game and especially with the lead that they had, but you can live with it. You look forward to Saturday to see if Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler can go, when the Miami Heat take on the red hot Phoenix Suns. It should be a good one.