Pace of Play

On top of three-point shooting, pace of play is going to be extremely important in this series because the Bucks and Heat are two completely different teams when it comes to the tempo of play. Milwaukee ranked 2nd in the NBA in pace with about 102.2 possessions per game and the Heat ranked 29th in pace with about 96.6 possessions per game. 

While this may not seem like a huge difference in terms of possessions, this is a really wide margin between teams, which is why controlling the pace of play is going to be extremely important for both teams. 

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Milwaukee generally likes to get out in transition and allow guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton to go “downhill” to the rim, whereas Miami tends to play a lot in the halfcourt and slow things down. 

Jimmy Butler dictates the flow for the Heat and with Bam Adebayo having the ability to play perimeter-to-post as a center, they are extremely versatile in terms of how they can break down a team defensively. 

If the Heat can affect the Bucks’ style of play in terms of playing fast and forcing them to play a lot in the halfcourt offensively, then Miami could gain the upper-hand in this series early on, especially since Milwaukee tends to get stuck in the “Giannis bully-ball” philosophy on offense at times.