The Miami Heat will face off against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their opening round series on Monday evening. Though they lost Game 1 of the series, it wasn’t because certain members of the Miami Heat weren’t giving it all they had… plus some.
Duncan Robinson was one of those guys. Where the Miami Heat struggled to create offense for many of their guys on Saturday afternoon, Robinson continued to show why he is one of the most lethal shooters in the entire league.
Robinson wasn’t alone either. The Miami Heat were able to stick as close as they were due to the huge and timely shot-making of Robinson, timely big buckets from Jimmy Butler in the midst of his clunker, and the solid, clutch, and much-needed play of one, Goran Dragic.
The Miami Heat need Goran Dragic to continue playing as he did in Game 1 and not just for the Bucks series, but for the duration of the 2021 playoffs.
Finishing with 25 points, two rebounds, and an assists in their, 107-109, loss to the Bucks, Dragic was the team’s leading scorer. As mentioned, only Duncan Robinson came close with his 24 points, with the next high man being Jimmy Butler’s 17.
Scoring has been a challenge, at times, for this Miami Heat team all year, so to see them struggle a bit on Saturday was no huge shock. Though, it must be admitted that to see Jimmy Butler completely out of whack like that was, indeed, a bit shocking.
Either way though and with all that, the Miami Heat had a chance to win the game and still hold a great chance to win the series. It still came down to the wire, took an overtime period, and still only finished on a great Khris Middleton mid-ranged jumper that was almost perfectly contested by Duncan Robinson.
However and as mentioned, one of the key reasons that the Miami Heat were able to maintain that proximity all game long was Goran Dragic. It’s as simple as this for Miami and Dragic.
The better he plays, the better their chances are. That’s why his continued excellence, as he displayed in Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs for Miami, is a must for the duration of their playoff lives.
In fact, it’s probably the key to just how long that might be.