Miami Heat-Milwaukee Bucks Preview: Can Hobbled Heat Take Down Conference Rival?
The Miami Heat (28-25) enter Tuesday’s game after an injury-plagued loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson left Sunday’s game with injuries and are unavailable (along with Jimmy Butler) Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks (35-19). Duncan Robinson was also injured against Boston, but finished the game. He is questionable for Tuesday.
The Bucks have gone 3-5 since hiring coach Doc Rivers, but are coming off last night’s 112-95 blowout win against the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Previous Matchups
This is the third and final meeting between the Heat and Bucks, with Milwaukee winning the first two. Miami was undermanned in both, as Bam Adebayo and Caleb Martin missed Game 1 in Milwaukee, and Butler and Tyler Herro missed Game 2 in Miami.
Herro scored 35 points and had eight rebounds in a 122-114 loss. Butler struggled with 13 points and a team-worst -13 plus/minus. Milwaukee’s star tandem of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard combined for 58 points in the win.
Despite the 131-124 loss in Game 2, Adebayo was superb. The 26-year-old had 31 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Richardson and then-Heat point guard Kyle Lowry scored 20 and 21 points, respectively. Antetokounmpo (33) and Lillard (32) again provided the scoring for the Bucks.
Opposing Players To Watch
Antetokounmpo and Lillard are one of the best duos in the league.
Antetokounmpo is averaging 30.7 points (3rd in the NBA), 11.7 rebounds (6th) and 6.3 assists (19th) while shooting 60.9 percent (10th). The two-time MVP is just as elite on the defensive end, averaging 1.4 blocks, 1.1 steals and has a 112.1 defensive rating, 19th in the NBA. Antetokounmpo dominated the Nuggets last night with a 36-point, 18-rebound, five-assist performance.
Lillard is averaging 25.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists. In his first season since being acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers, Lillard’s scoring and efficiency have dipped. He has had to adjust to being the No. 2 scoring option for the first time in his career, but the eight-time All-Star can erupt at a moment's notice. Lillard has two 40-point games this season.
Key Matchup
Giannis Antetokounmpo vs. Bam Adebayo
In the only meeting between the two stars this season, Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 10 rebounds, and Adebayo 31 points and 10 rebounds.
In that November home game, with Butler and Herro out, Adebayo was aggressive on offense with a career-high 27 field-goal attempts.
Not only will Adebayo guard Milwaukee's best player on Tuesday, but he again must lead an offense missing three (possibly four) rotation players.
Nick Crandell is a staff contributor at Inside the Heat.
He can be reached at nick.crandell33@gmail.com or follow him on Instagram @nickcrandell
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