The Milwaukee Bucks are on a tough back-to-back
The (35-19) Milwaukee Bucks take on the (28-25) Miami Heat Tuesday Night at home at the Fiserv. Tip time is 7:00 CST. The Bucks won an exciting game one (122-114) vs Miami on Oct. 30th. Of course, that feels like light-years ago (10/30). Then Milwaukee went on to defeat Miami (131-124) in game two of the season series.
This will be the final time this year these two teams square off unless they meet again in the NBA playoffs.
Related: Maybe it was good the Bucks Lost the In-Season Tournament
Milwaukee is an 8-point favorite in this one.
Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier are both out for Miami. Khris Middleton is out for Milwaukee.
The keys for the Milwaukee Bucks
Keep shooting the three
The Bucks average 37.8 three-point attempts a game. (Miami only averages 33 per game, 18th in the NBA) The Bucks and their offense has an advantage here. Can they convert those attempts and really put pressure on the Heat?
So who needs to make some threes? Dame could? Malik Beasley was 7-9 from the three against Charlotte. Maybe this is a game where Jae Crowder really shows out.
Either way, if the Bucks can sink some threes this game could get out of hand for the generally low-scoring Heat team.
Keep Scoring Points
This is an NBA regular season game. The Heat are missing some key players and the Bucks are on a back-to-back. I’d be surprised if this game was filled with tons of defensive intensity.
The Bucks are 2nd in the NBA in scoring (124.4 points per game). Defensively they give up around 119 points per game, hence this sense that the defense isn’t very good.
In terms of field goal percentage, Milwaukee is 4th overall in the NBA (49.5%).
Free throw shooting is looking like a weaker shooting spot for this team. Milwaukee is 21st in the NBA in terms of team free throw shooting (77%).
Rebound the Basketball
“Box out!”
In this game, Milwaukee needs to stick to the fundamentals.
Milwaukee led the league last season in total team rebounds. This season might end up being the tale of two rebounding teams: The Adrian Griffin team which did not seem to care about rebounding and the Doc Rivers team which really does.
Under Griffin the team was 20th in the league in rebounding. Today they are 10th in the NBA. This dramatic turnaround has come after some big rebounding games against Charlotte (54) and Denver (51).
They need to rebound to get the ball out into transition.
When the Bucks control the glass they control the tempo of the game. As a team, they need to control the tempo of the game. Giannis leads the team in rebounds with 11.4 per game.
Related: Heat vs Bucks Game One Preview
The Opponent: The Miami Heat
The Heat also have two really great players in Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.
Butler is out so that is already a strike against them in the game.
The All-Star Adebayo continues to play well. Averaging 23/10/4, he is the Heat’s leading scorer, rebounder and rim protector. He is just a real solid player. Miami added center Thomas Bryant to back him up.
Tyler Herro is a Milwaukee native, having attended Whitnall High School in Greenfield Wisconsin. Herro, at the time, made a controversial move by verbally de-committing from the Wisconsin Badgers to attend the University of Kentucky. Hindsight being 20/20, the move could not have worked out better for him. He recently signed a 4-yr $130 million dollar contract extension. He is expecting his second child; his hoops career has been gangbusters, and he is only 23 years old.
The 6’ 5” shooting guard had great stats this year averaging 20/5/4 a game consistently. He can shoot the three as well as anyone in the NBA. He has an incredible work ethic. His hometown connections continue to make an awesome story.
Herro is also an above-average free-throw shooter. Last season he shot over 93%.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been a nice player for Miami this year. Their first overall pick, he has even started in 4 games so fast this season. As of this writing, he is shooting 40% from 3. He fits well into the notion of “Heat Culture”.
We talk about this all the time in these previews: The idea of “Heat Culture”. It is simple: be disciplined because NBA players can often fall astray. Miami is supposed to be this great place to party; Heat players express a certain work ethic that rises above that.
The Heat Culture starts with Head Coach Eric Spoelstra who is still coaching for Miami. (First season was in 1997). He has won two NBA Championships with Miami and has helped instill a “heat culture” which is well-renowned in NBA circles. The main idea is “stay ready so you don’t have to be ready.” Sounds pretty philosophical.
People wonder what is "Heat Culture"… Heat Culture is discipline, accountability, work ethic and enjoying somebody else’s success. As the #OG, it's my job to set the tone. Stay ready so you don't have to get ready. @GQ @GQsports⚓️💯 https://t.co/RD2xHB3mUC pic.twitter.com/HHLQaaZUYH
— Udonis Haslem (@ThisIsUD) October 27, 2021
Things to tell your buddies as you are watching the game
- The Bucks might need to shoot more and faster. They are only averaging 87 shots a game. The best team in the NBA so far in that category (The Pacers) are taking 95 shots a game.
- Milwaukee Bucks fan R. D. Trebilcox, was awarded a new car for his part in reasoning why the Bucks was a good nickname for the team upon its creation, saying that bucks were “spirited, good jumpers, fast and agile.”
- Miami leads the all-time series 75-53.
Follow me on Twitter at @authorrudylb and check out my other writings at www.rudylb.com. Check out the cool I-Heart Radio Podcast Gyro Step Podcast here. Follow us at @WiSportsHeroics for all things Wisconsin sports. Also, check out our merch store for some amazing WSH merchandise!
