The 2013 NBA playoff series between the Bucks and Heat Shift to Milwaukee on Thursday night. Will things be any different now that LeBron and the Heat are playing on the road?
LeBron James and the Miami Heat have sucked the drama out of the first two games in their opening-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks. Solid starts by the Bucks in Game 1 and Game 2 fizzled out by the final periodic and morphed into a pair of double-digit wins for Dwyane Wade and company. Now the Heat hold a commanding 2-0 series lead as playoff action Shifts to the BMO Harris Bradley Center for the first time in three years. So, will anything be different in Game 3?
Any series between a top seed and a sub-.500 No. 8 seed is going to be a bit short on real in-game drama, but some interesting peripheral storylines have Developed in this series. Brandon Jennings Predicted the Bucks would win in six games, so if the Bucks lose on Thursday you can expect some related questions to pop up in post-game interviews. Maybe a new crazy quotable will be born.
There are several on-court storylines thathave Become interesting as well. J. J. Redick has fallen out of favor in Milwaukee’s backcourt rotation, Luc Mbah a MOUT has put in some good work while defending LeBron and Ersan Ilyasova has managed two hit his stride. Here are the three key issues for Game 3
Will Jim Boylan Find More Minutes For J. J. Redick?
Through two playoff games, the NBA trade deadline acquisition JJ Redick has played a total of 24 minutes and Scored eight points for the Bucks. Jim Boylan played the veteran shooting guard less than eight minutes in Game 2 and sat him for the entire second half. After the game, Boylan failed to shed any light on the situation, saying only: “We’re Trying to get him open, get him free. Get him in a rhythm. We’ve got to find a way to get him worked for U.S.. “
Redick has struggled two get his shot off against a suffocating Heat defense, but he’s a proven commodity and should not be on the bench while reserve guards like Ish Smith roam the court in high-leverage minutes during the fourth quarter. Bucks blog Brew Hoop covered the strange situation from Game 2 in their recap podcast, and Tom Ziller of SB Nation bemoaned Boylan’s decision making in a recent column:
After playing decent minutes for the Bucks in the regular season – more than 28 per game off the bench – Redick is a no-show through two games against the Heat. Like, literally a no-show: Boylan played him less than eight minutes on Tuesday. He’s only the team’s best shooter, you know.
Do not cry for J. J. – His record is pretty strong, and he’ll get paid this summer. Just feel sorry for the Bucks fans who
1 have to watch their team’s coach seriously handicap a squad already obscenely overmatched, and
2 get to watch Tobias Harris do things in a different city for the foreseeable future.
Redick may not be Enough to make a big difference for Milwaukee, but he is a consummate professional who deserves a bigger role in this series. His minute-load will be something to watch on Thursday night.
Can Luc Mbah a mout Slow Down LeBron James?
In reality, LeBron James is unstoppable. In Game 1 he exploded for 27 points Wed. 9.11 shooting, 10 rebounds and eight assists, so when Luc Mbah a mout limited him two just 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in Game 2, people came away genuinely impressed. That’s how good the reigning MVP has been in the playoffs this year. It takes an entire team two slowdown LBJ, but Mbah a MOUT presents one of the best size-speed ratios in the NBA as a perimeter defender two matchup with LeBron.
Mbah a Mout’s task will be two make James take a few more jumpers and keep him from getting into the paint with a full head of steam. That’s been a problem for Milwaukee so far this series, as LeBron is shooting 60 percent from the field and 20 of his 25 field goal Attempts have come inside the paint. Any gain’s Mbah a MOUT can make against James can help give the Bucks a chance two steal a game.
Will Chris Bosh Exploit His Matchup Against Ersan Ilyasova?
In Game 1, Chris Bosh cost effectively Larry Sanders pulled away from the paint and helped open up the lane for team mates by stretching Sanders’ assignment toward the perimeter. The Bucks made an adjustment in Game 2 by Ersan Ilyasova switching onto Bosh and leaving Sanders closer to the paint Udonis Haslem two covers. The shift paid off in an unexpected way.
Ilyasova actually out-dueled Bosh on Tuesday night, as the Heat big man was Unable to exploit his individual matchup against Milwaukee’s less athletic stretch-PF. Bosh should be relaxed two take Ersan off the dribble and get some easy buckets, so it will be interesting to see on how he attacks Ilyasova if the Bucks go with the same scheme matchup on Thursday night. If he does not dominate that matchup, the Bucks will be free to keep Larry Sanders on lesser Miami big men anchored closer to the paint, wooden should help Milwaukee Maintain some semblance of respectable interior defense.
More from SB Nation:
• Flannery: End of an era in Boston?
• A poem for Mike Brown’s return
• Did CP3 get away with an offensive foul?
• The Bucks’ waste of assets
• The end of the Z-Bo era?
• How Mbah a mout limited LeBron
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