The Miami Heat don’t have an easy task before them on Sunday as they get ready to kick off their 2023 NBA playoff run. Facing off against a Milwaukee Bucks squad that features one of the very best players in the NBA, perhaps the very best, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Miami Heat will have to be on their very best game to even think about taking the series.
But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t capable of doing just that. But you also have to be honest going in, noting that when you look at this Miami Heat team, there really isn’t anything that should give you supreme confidence that they can go in and do anything close to dominate the Bucks.
However, their competitive drive and Jimmy Butler should give you enough confidence that they can and will go in to compete with all they have. But that leads to even more intrigue.
If the Miami Heat can compete enough to give themselves a chance at two wins before all is said and done in the series, then things could get really interesting. Even if it lands at 3-2 but better hopefully, then that could be all it takes to give the Heat a shot, and here’s why you say that.
Primarily, if they can get two wins, then two more are certainly possible. Secondly though, everybody is human, so those two wins could begin to allow a bit of doubt into the minds of the Bucks players.
Now, what on earth could make you think that the Miami Heat could possibly do that? Well, if the Miami Heat can somehow make enough shots, then they can compete with anyone anyways, making this a much more evenly matched series in general. The Miami Heat are, pretty much, the same team that they were last season roster wise when they were a top seed but the shots haven’t fallen in the same manner this season, leaving them where they fell this season.
But that speaks to a notion about the other side as well. When you look at the Milwaukee Bucks, they aren’t necessarily the same team that they’ve been over the past two seasons or so either.
Though they still roster most of the same guys and all of the key guys, to be specific, those key guys aren’t the same forms of themselves right now. The Greek Freak missed time down the stretch of the season, while Khris Middleton has yet to play in a back to back set of games so far after returning from an injury.
And in that time, the Milwaukee bucks depended heavily on Jrue Holliday to keep them afloat and propel them to wins—but what kind of toll has that taken on him? This isn’t to say that any of this is gospel or that it will have a vast impact on the outcome but what it is to say is that there are questions.
At least, there are more questions surrounding this Bucks team than there has been in recent years. And again, with that, if the Miami Heat can go in and just get two wins before being eliminated, which is extremely possible, then they’ll have a chance to shake things up in a major way.
And yes, that does mean beating the Bucks.
HEAT VS THE WORLD 