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Khris Middleton says Milwaukee Bucks have to be "better and stronger" against a physical Miami Heat squad

The Bucks have to fight force with equal force.
Jonas Panerio|
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Milwaukee Bucks

Battling an undermanned Miami Heat squad that is missing one of its most potent scorers in Tyler Herro, the Milwaukee Bucks knew they were going to come out with incredible energy and physicality, especially while playing in the confines of their homecourt—the Kaseya Center. Unfortunately for the Bucks, they got hit in the mouth early on and weren’t able to recover, eventually falling 121-99 to go down 2-1 in the first-round series.

Match Heat’s intensity

With the all-important Game 4 coming up on Monday, the Bucks’ All-Star wingman Khris Middleton knows they have to match the Heat’s intensity and physicality in order to even out the series.

“Just gotta be better, gotta be stronger,” Middleton said. “I think that’s what caused a lot of our turnovers. Sped us up a little bit. They’re going to play that way, we have to adjust. We have to be stronger. We have to be better.”

Active hands

Bucks wingman Grayson Allen also detailed just how relentless the Heat were in Game 3, getting into space of the Bucks’ ball-handlers to force turnovers and disrupt the Bucks' offensive flow.

“They’re physical,” The former Duke standout said. “They get into the ball. They have active hands. They’re always coming down to help on the paint. They do a good job of trying to disrupt us. A lot of the stuff they were getting, they were able to get stops and run, which makes it tough on us defensively.”

With the Bucks’ backs against the wall after the Game 3 loss and the Heat’s 2-1 lead, it will be interesting to see if they can keep up their intensity in Game 4 on Monday night. It’s clear that the Heat are playing with a lot of heart and determination as they look to complete the upset of the best team in the NBA. 

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Jonas Panerio
JONAS PANERIO