Bucks vs Heat

https://twitter.com/Bucks/status/1647631183369637890

Sounds like a clean bill of health for the Bucks entering game 1. Will Grayson Allen or Jae Crowder be the 5th starter? The Bucks might need a bigger wing defender in latter rounds, so it will be interesting to see if Crowder gets the nod now to build chemistry among the starting group. Miami is well coached, great culture and has talent.....but would be surprised if this goes beyond 5 games.

https://twitter.com/eric_nehm/status...97232033792005

Thoughts after a disappointing Game 1:

(1) Bucks shoot 11-45 (24.4%) beyond the arc compared to 15-25 (60%) for Miami. During the regular season, the Bucks were 10th in the league at 36.8% while Miami was 27th at 34.4%. It can't get much worse for Milwaukee and can't get much better for Miami.

(2) Milwaukee, being a Top 5 defense, clearly did not come out with the intensity or execution needed in a playoff game. This has happened in years past under Bud, there is one game (sometimes two) where they are just awful and act like it is a regular season game against Orlando.

(3) Positives......Middleton and Portis were fantastic. Middleton looked like 2021 championship run Middleton; 33 PTS, 9 REBS, 4 ASSTS in 33 minutes.

(4) Negatives.....Lopez, Holiday, Crowder, Carter were awful. Ingles (3-7) and Allen (2-4) were ok making a few beyond the arc.

(5) Tough injury for Miami losing Herro to a broken middle and ring finger on his shooting hand.

Good news for Giannis and the Bucks.....helps with 2 days off between games 1 & 2 and 2 & 3.

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/st...75347932250112

Bucks in serious trouble.

Time to reset once Miami finishes this off. Need to get significantly younger. And I wouldn't hate a change at the top. Too many playoff implosions over the last 5 years.

"Milwaukee is one of the most dangerous teams down 3-1 that I have seen in a really long time." Tim Legler at the 3:35 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PidnIm9lqps

I tend to agree. Basically lost 2 of the 3 games without Giannis. The Bucks were up the majority of Game 4, it took 56 from Jimmy for Miami to steal it. Miami will still be without Herro and Oladipo. 2 of the potential 3 remaining games would be at the Fiserv Forum. Can you win Game 6 in Miami?

Coach Bud has to feel like he is coaching for his job. Needs to be quicker with timeouts when Miami makes a run, needs to be more flexible and open to making adjustments throughout the game. Especially in defending Butler.

I don't see how coach Bud keeps his job if the #1 overall seed in the NBA loses to a #8 seed in the first round (2020.....Bucks lose as #1 seed to #5 seed Miami).

Blow the whole ******* thing up

So disappointing.

(1) Heat did not resemble what they were in the regular season at all. A truly impressive offensive display. Butler, the 3-point shooting and a great offensive system put in place by Spoelstra. The #8 seed but basically the same guys that went 7 games with Boston in the 2022 ECF.

(2) The best I have ever seen Jimmy Butler play. If he was always this good....he would be in the class of Jordan, Kobe and LeBron. Good grief.

(3) Bucks bench, outside of game 2, failed (Crowder, Ingles, Portis, Carter). Credit to Wes, he emptied his tank and played well defensively. Connaughton solid.

(4) Can't blame it on age. Giannis (28), Middleton (31), Holiday (32), Portis (28), Allen (27), Connaughton (30), Crowder (32), Carter (27). Brook is 35, but he was good and not the problem. For Miami, Butler (33), Adebayo (25), Vincent (26), Lowry (37), Love (34), Strus (27).

(5) As good as Giannis is, there are a few teams that can slow him down come playoff time. Spoelstra and the Heat are one of them (2020 and 2023). Boston is another. Toronto in 2019. Giannis needs an off-season of complete skill development. Needs to have more in his bag to go to against a set defense in the playoffs. How many missed FTs in the 4th QTR?

(6) Bud has been remarkably successful since coming to Milwaukee, but is it time to go in another direction? From 18-19 to 22-23, the Bucks have been elite with a championship on the resume. Jay Wright? Nick Nurse? I honestly don't know. No Giannis for 2 games did not help. Always easy to blame the coach.

(7) How Miami performs the rest of the playoffs will provide some context as to how much of this loss was Miami's greatness and how much of it was Milwaukee's weaknesses.

Regardless, a colossal failure to lose in the first round as the team with the best record in the NBA.

Has Bud been fired yet?

I'd be willing to roll back the same team next year with a different coach.