Photo via Twitter / @SportsCenter
Before tip-off on Sunday night’s season finale with the Chicago Bulls, the Milwaukee Bucks’ playoff fate was sealed. Earlier in the night, the Brooklyn Nets wrapped up the 2nd overall seed in the Eastern Conference, leaving the Bucks with a first-round playoff matchup against the Miami Heat. Unfortunately, drawing the Heat in the playoffs is a bit of salt in a still-fresh wound, as Miami bounced the Bucks from last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals in a 4-1 series. In a year when Milwaukee boasted the best regular-season record in the NBA and made quick work of the Orlando Magic in the first round, they were no match for former Marquette star Jimmy Butler, former Whitnall Falcon Tyler Herro, and a cast of solid components on an Erik Spoelstra-led team.
That being said, the 2020-21 season is a much different situation than what the Bucks faced last year. Most obviously, there is no delay between the regular season and the playoffs. With the 2019-20 season delayed in March due to the start of the pandemic, there was a significant amount of time off before the Bucks could return to the court, destroying the momentum that helped clinch a playoff spot early in the postseason race. Last year’s playoffs also took place in a “bubble” scenario, with all of the team competing in the Disney Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando. Home court advantage certainly can play a factor, and the Bucks have had plenty of success at Fiserv Forum compared to road or neutral-site games. With that being said, let’s look at how this year’s teams stack up.
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Season Series
In the regular season, Milwaukee won more of their contests with the Heat, taking two of three games. The teams split back-to-back games to close out the calendar year of 2020, with the Bucks blowing out the Heat 144-97 on December 29 and losing 119-108 the following night. The two teams didn’t see each other again due to COVID-19 concerns until Saturday night, where the Bucks won a rescheduled contest by a score of 122-108 at home. In a game that was very much a statement to a potential first-round opponent, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Bryn Forbes each had over 20 points to put Miami away. The Heat, however, were without Jimmy Butler, and had already secured the 6th seed with not much ground to make up in terms of playoff position.
Momentum
Prior to Saturday’s loss to Milwaukee, the Heat had won their last four games, as well as seven of their last eight. The Bucks also have won eight of their last nine games, with both teams finding their stride late in the year. Milwaukee has an advantage in terms of injuries, however, with Khris Middleton being the only component of the Bucks’ regular rotation missing Sunday’s season-ending game with the Chicago Bulls. On the contrary, Miami had eight players miss their Sunday contest with the Detroit Pistons, including stars Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic. While it’s safe to say that some of those “injuries” may have been reasons to rest their players heading into the postseason, Miami is definitely worse for wear going into the first round. Both teams will have a week to recover while the NBA’s experimental play-in tournament takes place, but will be looking to be as healthy as possible by May 22, when the first round of the postseason begins.
