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GAME DAY PREVIEW AND INJURY REPORT: The well-rested Milwaukee Bucks begin 1st round series with the Miami Heat
After a short respite, it’s back to business for the Milwaukee Bucks as they begin their first-round playoffs with the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon.
The Bucks have a home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series, a benefit they earned after emerging as the overall top seed by virtue of their NBA-best 58-24 regular season record.
Another reward that the Bucks got as a top seed is their break. Milwaukee has not played since April 9th, and the weeklong rest allowed their banged-up personnel to take a much-needed breather.
Welcomed break
The biggest beneficiary of the break were the Bucks’ main men, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. The two missed the team’s final two regular-season games due to knee soreness.
In contrast, the Heat had to go through two grueling matches in the play-in before they earned the right to play the Bucks.
While Milwaukee is well-rested entering Game 1, Miami has just played on Friday night, scoring a 102-91 win over the Chicago Bulls to clinch the final playoff seat in the Eastern Conference.
Before playing the Bulls, the Heat also played the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. Miami lost the game, 116-105, which sent them to a sudden-death duel with Chicago.
Milwaukee and Miami split their regular season series. Milwaukee is a solid 32-9 home in the regular season, while Miami went 17-24 in away games. The Heat finished the season with a 44-38 record.
Injury report
It seems like the break served the Bucks well, as they have no names on their injury list ahead of Game 1 of the 2023 playoffs.
On the other side, Nikola Jovic is listed as doubtful for the Heat.
