Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat Prediction & Match Preview - September 4th, 2020 | Game 3
Match Details
Fixture: Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat
Date & Time: Friday, September 4th, 6:30 PM ET (Saturday, 4 AM IST)
Venue: The Field House, Orlando, FL
The Miami Heat were the only team in the Eastern Conference who had the Milwaukee Bucks' number in the regular season and they've continued to dominate them in the NBA Playoffs. Game 2 came down to the final possession, but Erik Spoelstra's men never looked too uncomfortable anyway.
Milwaukee Bucks Preview
The Milwaukee Bucks' over-reliance on Giannis Antetokounmpo was going to catch up with them sooner or later. The Miami Heat have found a way to put multiple bodies on him and clog the paint. Unfortunately for The Greek Freak, even when he's dishing it out to his perimeter shooters in Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton, they aren't converting at a high clip.
Wesley Matthews hasn't been huge offensively but he did a great job of restricting Jimmy Butler in Game 2. Bench points remain a concern though, with George Hill being the only reliable option for Mike Budenholzer so far.
Key Player - Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a much better outing on Wednesday where he went off for 29 points and 14 rebounds. However, he still needs to improve from the free-throw line because he will continue getting fouled down the stretch. Additionally, he also has to find more ways of scoring besides attacking the rim.
Milwaukee Bucks Predicted Lineup
Eric Bledsoe, Wesley Matthews, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez
Miami Heat Preview
The Miami Heat's versatility is helping them immensely against the Milwaukee Bucks. They've got bigs to take care of interior defense while the guards and Jimmy Butler himself combine to close down the perimeter guys.
The Miami Heat are also able to get the offense flowing from everywhere on the court. The likes of Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, and Goran Dragic can make it rain from downtown with the latter having a good mid-range game as well. Butler and Bam Adebayo have been able to do it closer to the basket. Seven players managing double-digit points in Game 2 speaks volumes about this unit's ability.
Key Player - Jimmy Butler
The thing about Jimmy Butler is that he may not be dropping 40 points but will still come in late in the game to make clutch plays. He was impressive defensively to force stops on the Milwaukee Bucks in the last encounter. He also drew the foul on the final play and converted the resultant free-throws to lead the Miami Heat to a 2-0 lead.
Miami Heat Predicted Lineup
Goran Dragic, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, Bam Adebayo
Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat Match Prediction
The Milwaukee Bucks have much more to offer in this series and after two games, they're likely to dig deep and find a way to crack the Miami Heat's defensive wall. Even Game 2 was decided on controversial calls. Just like Jimmy Butler, the rest of his teammates can be streaky scorers at times and we saw glimpses of that in the fourth quarter on Wednesday. Expect the Milwaukee Bucks to finally come out all guns blazing and win Game 3.
Where to watch Bucks vs Heat?
National broadcast of the game will be available on TNT. You can also live stream the same via the NBA League Pass.
Also read: NBA Trade Rumors - Giannis Antetokounmpo to Dallas Mavericks a possibility