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The Milwaukee Bucks' slogan is "Fear the Deer." 

This year, there is another fear within the organization. The Bucks are facing the possibility of being upset in the playoffs for a third straight season. They begin their best-of-7 series against the Miami Heat Saturday in Milwaukee. 

The Bucks are the favorite as the No. 3 seed while the Heat are No. 6. 

"I don't know if this year is gonna be different," Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said Thursday. "I'm not gonna lie to you. It might be the same. Who knows."

The Bucks were the No. 1 seed the past two years only to have their season end in disappointment. In 2019, they lost to the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals. Last year they fell in five games to the Heat in the conference semifinals. 

"The results are gonna talk for themselves in the end," Antetokounmpo said. "But at the end of the day, I don't get too high, don't get too low. I feel like last year, probably because of the bubble I wasn't able to get away from basketball. Like, losing a game and just going to the hotel and seeing the players that just beat you, you got too low."

The Heat, meanwhile, are entering the series with all the confidence in the world. 

“I’m ready for anything," Heat forward Jimmy Butler said. "You leave the past in the past, all the wins, all the losses, all the mishaps, all the great fortunes. It’s a different time of the year right now. You’re supposed to be playing your best basketball, be healthy. And first one to 16 wins, so we’ve got start with the first four.”

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