The Miami Heat focus all of their attention defensively on Giannis Antetokounmpo

It is virtually impossible to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo, especially since he is starting to develop an outside jump shot, but the Miami Heat have found a lot of success defending him this season. In 3 regular season games against the Heat, Antetokounmpo only averaged 16.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists and shot 48.7% from the floor. This could very well carry over into the NBA playoffs.

Miami found a lot of success defending Giannis, especially when they double-teamed him on the drive/in the low-post, and they will likely continue this defensive philosophy on the two-time MVP in this playoff series. 

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All season long, the Bucks offense has flowed through Giannis Antetokounmpo and last season, the Heat found a lot of success forcing him to give the ball up and try to let others like Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe beat them in that playoff series in 2020. 

Now, with Jrue Holiday as an upgrade from Eric Bledsoe, the Bucks may find more success through other players not named Giannis Antetokounmpo, especially given Holiday’s ability to drive and kick, but overall, the way the Heat win this series is if they force anybody other than Giannis to take shots. 

If Antetokounmpo is having his way and is able to get to the paint on every offensive production, then this could be a quick series in favor of the Milwaukee Bucks, but if the Heat look to neutralize Giannis like they have done so successfully in the past, then this could definitely be a series that goes 7 games.