The Miami Heat just didn’t have it in their opening round NBA Playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks. Based on Game 1 of the series, you would have thought it would have been more closely and tightly contested than it was, with that game actually coming down to the wire.
After Games 2 and 3 though, you pretty much knew that the writing was on the wall. Even with that though, the Miami Heat came out to open Game 4, the game that could be the final game of their 2020-21 season, with a sense of urgency they hadn’t had since Game 1.
The first half gave hope, not that they could win the series but that they could win the quintessential one game, first and foremost. They would win that half, taking a, 64-57, lead into the break.
It was not to be though, as the second half ultimately happened. The Miami Heat not only, seemingly, fell back into the same losing ways that they had in Games 2 and 3, for the most part, but they did so at the worst time.
The Miami Heat just didn’t have it agains the Milwaukee Bucks and it got them swept.
Before you knew it, the Milwaukee Bucks were again on top and running away with the game. The Miami Heat couldn’t keep guys out of the lane, couldn’t keep guys from driving open lanes, couldn’t get offensive boards over guys like PJ Tucker, and just couldn’t get out to wide open three point shooters either.
What also didn’t help was Jimmy Butler‘s showing during this series. Butler was just 19-64 from the field in the series.
Shooting just 29.6 percent from the floor won’t ever get it done. Bam Adebayo had gotten a bit more aggressive over Game’s 3 and 4, but the shots wouldn’t fall in Game 3.
Though he got a few to go in Game 4, it wasn’t enough to impact the game in a changing manner. He has to be be better there, as he had the opportunity to attack Brook Lopez all series and didn’t.
At the end of the day, the Miami Heat seemed to be a piece away. They needed something else to help them compete and potentially, take them over the top.
Victor Oladipo could have, potentially, maybe, possibly been that piece, but the situation is beyond that now and who cries over spilled milk? A longer offseason is before them now, where the players will have a chance to get what seems to be some much needed rest and the Heat will have a chance to tinker with the team.
With some of the things being heard out there, look for them to re-group with a vengeance. In this series though, in the year 2021, the Milwaukee Bucks proved to be way too much for them.