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2021 NBA Playoffs East 1st Round: #3 Milwaukee Bucks vs #6 2020 NBA Bubble Runner Up (MIL sweeps 4-0 🧹)

Who wins?

  • Total voters
    30
  • Poll closed .
www.theringer.com

First Impressions of Every First-Round NBA Playoff Series

Can the Heat get more out of Bam on offense? Is it time to give Deandre Ayton his due? We’ve got one observation for all eight first games from the 2021 postseason’s opening-weekend bonanza.
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Bam needs to get aggressive.
I wouldn’t blame Heat fans if they were annoyed by how passive Bam Adebayo was on offense in Game 1 against the Bucks. He didn’t look for his jumper. He didn’t attack the paint. He didn’t give the team what was needed to win. After the loss, Goran Dragic said, “I feel like he needs to be more aggressive.”

This has been a story all season. Despite Adebayo averaging a career-high 18.7 points, Heat fans (and players) were often left wanting more.

Adebayo’s facilitation of dribble handoff actions is integral to Miami’s success. It’s how he got most of his 5.4 assists per game. But Milwaukee had success containing Miami’s sets by having Brook Lopez drop into the paint and defenders trail the player running through the handoff.

The Heat’s sputtering half-court offense frequently could have used a boost by Bam. In Game 1, Lopez treated Adebayo as a non-scorer:

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Milwaukee was baiting Adebayo into taking midrange jumpers, which he shot at 42.4 percent this season, according to Second Spectrum. That’s an inefficient shot, so naturally the Heat don’t want him to take a lot of them. Making those shots wouldn’t necessarily change what the Bucks are doing, but the threat of a shot could open more chances for Adebayo to attack off the dribble.

He looks uncomfortable attacking the rim. But he doesn’t have the post skills to turn his back toward the basket and put a move on Lopez either.

Perhaps more important than the development of Adebayo’s jump shot is his post game. In the same way it was vital for Nikola Jokic to take more shots, or for Joel Embiid to be a better post passer, Adebayo eventually needs to become a more impactful post scorer to realize his full potential because it would make him more challenging to defend.

This season, when Adebayo received a post touch, he passed 54 percent of the time, according to Second Spectrum. Of the 30 players to log at least 150 post-ups, only Mason Plumlee and Draymond Green passed more often. When Adebayo did anything but pass, he scored only 0.91 points per chance, which ranked 24th of 30.

Adebayo should be held to a high standard; for the Heat to maximize their collective potential during the Jimmy Butler era, they’ll need their All-Star big man to be more of a scorer. As effective as Bam is as a passer, he could be even better if teams had reason to send help toward him on his post and elbow touches. During the season, Bam was double-teamed on only 13 percent of his post-ups, which ranked 22nd most often of those same 30 players. Bam probably won’t wake up one morning during the playoffs with savvy drop-steps and face-up bank-shots, but the way that the Bucks are daring him to make a play off the dribble reveals just how critical this area is for him long term.
 
www.espn.com

NBA experts: Big Game 1 takeaways and what comes next

Every Game 1 is in the books. What outcomes and performances were most surprising? Which team is facing a must-win Game 2? Our NBA experts examine a thrilling weekend.
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What's one adjustment you'd like to see one team make after Game 1?

Arnovitz: The Bucks should run more two-man actions for Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo, something they went away from after the first quarter. Milwaukee generated some quality looks in Game 1 from the perimeter that they simply didn't make, but they're going to need a bit more offense beyond that to win the series. As a pick-and-roll combo, Middleton and Antetokounmpo were an efficient tandem for the Bucks all season. It's an action that also puts both players in a position to work strengths: Middleton as a one- or two-dribble shooter who can get up any shot with just a modicum of space, and Antetokounmpo as a devastating finisher when he is in the vicinity of the hoop. Antetokounmpo was 0-for-14 outside the restricted area in Game 1, and this seems like an effective way to get him to spend more time inside it.
 
The team that most needs to win Game 2 is ...

Lopez: The Miami Heat. If the Heat could steal home-court advantage from Milwaukee by taking Game 2 on Monday, the pressure on Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. would grow to not only finish Miami off but to even make it out of the first round -- especially after all the moves the Bucks have made for a deep run this season.
 
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